Sammy Hagar has asked fans to consider the positive side of David Lee Roth’s recent comments at a live show concerning a story Hagar had told.
Hagar, Van Halen’s former lead singer, claimed that the late Eddie Van Halen’s ghost visited him in a dream and showed him guitar chords for his latest single released in April, “Encore, Thank You, Goodnight,” in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock.
“About two months ago, I had this dream and Eddie (Van Halen) came, it was just like he’d been gone. It was not like he was passed, but he had just been out of my life, and we hadn’t seen each other for a while. He’s going, ‘Man, let’s write some music!’ I said, ‘Yeah, f— it, man. Here, let’s go!’”
During his show at the Hampton Casino in Hampton, NH, Roth, 70, spoke about Hagar’s story.
“One of my esteemed colleagues, he’s a contemporary, he’s got a great voice, he’s got a great catalogue,” Roth told the crowd. “You all know Sammy Hagar, right? He’s got a great voice. And Sammy, aloud, he described to the media about six weeks ago that the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited him and graced him with a song that he memorized and then went home and recorded. It’s on the internet.”
After the compliments, it seemed as though Roth was taking a dig at Hagar’s story.
“I don’t know what the odds are, but last night the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited me at the f—ing hotel room. I was watching the weather report, and he came in and he was laughing. His f—ing ghost was laughing. I said, ‘What did you do now?’ He said, ‘Dave, Dave… Dave, you know that song I gave Hagar?’ I said, ‘What now?’ He said, ‘It’s actually (Iron Butterfly’s 1968 song) ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’ backwards. Don’t f—ing tell him.’”
After the video surfaced, fans thought that Roth was making fun of Hagar’s ghostly story. In a comment left on Monday, Hagar believes the satirical story is actually Roth’s way of giving a peace offering.
“I can’t believe social media is trying to make something out of this,” Hagar wrote on Instagram. “This is the first compliment and real olive branch moment Dave and I have had in 100 years. Listen closely, and you will see that this is not negative whatsoever. And I believe Dave had the dream as well. Dave’s a good storyteller, but there’s some truth in between the showmanship. All good with me. Keep it up, Dave. These songs we both wrote with Eddie need to be carried on forever.”
At least two former members of Van Halen seem to be getting along. Hagar and drummer Alex Van Halen haven’t spoken to each other in 20 years. Van Halen’s memoir, “Brothers,” omits Hagar’s stint with the band, replacing Roth in 1985.
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Murjani Rawls may be reached at [email protected]
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