Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar, 77, Shares His ‘Favorite’ Roth-Era Song to Perform

If you’re a Van Halen fan, then you already know that most people divide the band’s legacy into two eras: David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar.

Roth, 70, was the original lead singer of Van Halen. He was present from 1974 to 1985, and later returned for brief reunions. Hagar, 77, replaced Roth in 1985 and played with Van Halen until 1996. Hagar also joined the band for a reunion tour from 2003 to 2005.

Some of Roth’s signature songs include “Jump,” “Panama,” “Runnin’ With the Devil,” and “Hot for Teacher.” Hagar, on the other hand, is known for “Why Can’t This Be Love, “Right Now,” “Dreams,” and “When It’s Love.”

Despite rampant feud rumors over the years, Hagar has no problem admitting that he enjoys playing some of Van Halen’s Roth-era hits.

While performing at his Best of All Words Las Vegas Residency earlier this year, he pulled some Roth classics out of the vault.

“Well, it’s like ‘Rock Candy’ to me, it just has it. You know, anybody can play it. It’s one of those cover songs,” Hagar told Ultimate Classic Rock, referring specifically to “Runnin’ With the Devil.”

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“If I’m going to do a cover song, I like to do [things like] a Led Zeppelin song, or a Rolling Stones song that’s iconic, ‘Honky Tonk Women,’ or Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock and Roll,’ or ‘Whole Lotta Love,’ [for example]. You kick those songs off anywhere, anytime, anyplace, [with] any amount of people, any place in the world, and everybody is happy,” Hagar added.

Still performing with Michael Anthony, the bassist and backing vocalist for Van Halen for decades, Hagar is particularly territorial over one song.

“‘Panama’ is my favorite. You know, that’s the one I want to sing. I don’t let Mikey sing ‘Panama,’ because I like singing it. It’s a really fun song to play and sing. It’s badass,” Hagar jested.

“We add those songs to the set because we’re doing a lot of Van Halen stuff. Unlike the other guys that didn’t want to play my era, or can’t play my era,” he explained. “I like playing those songs, and I can play and sing those songs, and I think everyone appreciates them.”

This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.