Sammy Hagar

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While playing in a San Francisco cover band, Hagar was discovered and recruited to join Montrose, a new band being put together by noted session guitarist Ronnie Montrose. Hagar appeared on the band's debut and sophomore albums, which included the first song Hagar ever wrote, "Bad Motor Scooter". After conflicts arose between himself and Ronnie Montrose during a European tour, Hagar was fired. Bassist Bill Church, whom Montrose had fired after the first album, and drummer Denny Carmassi eventually followed Hagar out of Montrose, playing in his backing band as he embarked on a solo career.

By the late 1970s, Hagar was enjoying moderate success as a solo artist on Capitol Records under the tutelage of A&R man Carter, with such albums as Nine on a Ten Scale and hits such as "Red", which would build his persona and style, leading to his nickname as "the Red Rocker". However, Hagar felt that Carter did not play to his strengths as "a heavy-metal guy" and instead tried to generate Top 40 hits (such as a cover of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay") with little success. Hagar opened for Boston during their 1978/1979 "Don't Look Back" tour, and was scheduled to continue in San Bernardino, California. Prior to the show, Hagar was replaced on the bill by the up-and-coming Los Angeles club band the Knack. Hagar split with Carter for his 1979 Street Machine album which he self-produced. But after it and 1980's Danger Zone failed to break out, Hagar felt that Capitol was not supporting him sufficiently.

Hagar also penned songs that became hits for other bands, notably the top 10 rocker for Rick Springfield, "I've Done Everything for You". Bette Midler recorded two Hagar songs, "Keep on Rockin" and "Red".

Eddie Van Halen approached Hagar when they played a festival together in 1978 and informed him that Montrose had been his favorite band, referring to himself as a "Montrose freak". Hagar has said that Eddie had been heavily influenced by Montrose, saying "(N)ot his soloing as much as the chording – yeah, he took some of that big open chord thing [from Montrose]. The big open A, the big open D, the big open E. Everything as open as you could make it, to make it as heavy as possible with one guitar. And that was pretty much Ronnie's style, too."

Hagar left Capitol for the newly formed Geffen Records and made some personnel changes, including enlisting long-time friend and former Justice Brothers bandmate David Lauser as his drummer. His first Geffen release, Standing Hampton, was his biggest-selling album to date and went platinum on the strength of songs such as "There's Only One Way to Rock". The follow-up, Three Lock Box, generated his first pop Top 40 hit single and his highest-charting solo single on the Billboard Hot 100, "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy", which peaked at No. 13 in early 1983.

Hagar continued to enjoy commercial success in the 1980s, with perhaps his best-known song, "I Can't Drive 55", from his 1984 album VOA, reaching No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and garnering heavy AOR airplay. By this time, Hagar had become a headlining act in many parts of the United States and Europe.

In 1987, Hagar had his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks with "Give to Live" from I Never Said Goodbye, released after he had joined Van Halen.

In 1983 and 1984, Hagar and guitarist Neal Schon of Journey formed the supergroup HSAS (Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve) along with former Foghat bassist Kenny Aaronson and former Santana drummer Michael Shrieve. HSAS did a small Christmas tour to benefit local charities and released an album, Through the Fire. The tracks which appeared on the album were recorded live, but crowd noise was removed during the mixing process to create the feel of a studio album. As intended from its start, HSAS was a short-lived project. One song in particular, a cover of "A Whiter Shade of Pale", received some airplay, peaking at No. 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart as "Top of the Rock" became an under-the-radar airplay favorite on AOR stations and in markets such as Seattle.

In 1985 after parting ways with vocalist David Lee Roth, the remaining members of the band Van Halen contacted many potential replacements. In July, given Eddie Van Halen's appreciation of Montrose and at his car mechanic's suggestion, the band auditioned and quickly hired Hagar to fill the opening. With Hagar at the front, Van Halen produced four multi-platinum, number 1 Billboard charting albums: 5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Balance, as well as many chart hits, including nine number 1 Mainstream Rock hits. During Hagar's stint as Van Halen's vocalist, the band was often informally referred to by fans as "Van Hagar" as a way to distinguish the band from the previous David Lee Roth era.

Internal disputes eventually led to Hagar's departure from the band in June 1996. Hagar disagreed with a decision to record two new tracks for a greatest hits album after the band had agreed to take time off following their 1995 world tour. This issue was pushed by Van Halen's new manager Ray Danniels, Alex Van Halen's brother-in-law, who was brought in after the death of their longtime manager Ed Leffler. Hagar wanted instead to record a new studio album, but only after Eddie, Alex, and Hagar's pregnant wife had all dealt with their respective medical issues. Although there are several versions of how the split occurred, Hagar has stated that the final straw came when he was with his wife in Hawaii, where they had arranged for a natural delivery of the baby, and Eddie wanted him back in the studio in California. Hagar claimed to have flown to Los Angeles with his wife only to discover that she could not fly back to Hawaii. In the ensuing argument, he claims that he was fired. Eddie, on the other hand, says that Hagar quit. The end came when Eddie started to work with former lead singer David Lee Roth instead of Hagar, and two new songs were made with Roth for the greatest hits album Best Of – Volume I. When Van Halen again parted ways with Roth, instead of rehiring Hagar, the band hired Gary Cherone, the former lead singer of Extreme, also managed by Danniels.

Having jammed as a trio in 1992, Hagar, drummer David Lauser, and Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony formed the harmony-singing rock band Los Tres Gusanos (in English, the Three Worms) in 1993. Playing a mixture of Hagar, Van Halen, and cover songs at Cabo Wabo and in San Francisco the band got together a few times a year. Initially active until 1996, Los Tres Gusanos regrouped in 2002, then again in 2005, and has performed together many times since. Lauser has gone on record to say, "Los Tres Gusanos will never die and rumors abound that they may resurface in Cabo soon."

Musician Robert Berry stood in for Michael Anthony in 1996 and 1998 while the bass player fulfilled his touring commitments with Van Halen. Being basically a bar/jam band, the group has also hosted a number of guests with them on stage.

Like related project Planet Us, Los Tres Gusanos has played at the BAMMIES (aka the California Music Awards) and is known for its live performances. Similarly, neither band has ever made any official releases, although a number of unofficial bootleg live recordings have been widely circulated on CD and download, though these tend to be credited to Van Halen even when Hagar refers to Los Tres Gusanos by name during the recorded performances. In 2021, Hagar claimed that, during the early years of Los Tres Gusanos' formation, he was offered a spot singing for metal band Pantera that did not come to fruition.

Hagar produced several solo records after the split with Van Halen in 1996. He hit No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1997 with "Little White Lie". In 1999, he formed a long-term band, called the Waboritas: David Lauser returned on drums, as did Jesse Harms on keyboards, and new to the mix was former Bus Boys guitarist Vic Johnson, and former Tommy Tutone bassist Mona Gnader. Subsequent tours were known for spontaneity; such as improvising "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash at the IC Light Amphitheatre in Pittsburgh after the noise of a train disturbed the show.

In the summer of 2002, Roth and Hagar teamed up in the Song For Song, the Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll Tour (also known as the 'Sans-Halen' or 'Sam & Dave' Tour). The tour attracted media and audience fascination because it seemed more improbable than even a Van Halen tour with Roth or Hagar. The tour drew large crowds and featured no opening acts; Roth and Hagar alternated as the first act. Roth contrasted his personality with Hagar's: "He's the kind of guy you go out with to split a bottle with a friend. I'm the kind of guy you go out with if you want to split your friend with a bottle." Michael Anthony guested with Hagar's Waboritas numerous times and sometimes even sang lead. During performances, Hagar teased Anthony by asking, "Do the brothers know you're here?" Anthony never played with Roth. Gary Cherone appeared on occasion. Hagar released a live album (Live: Hallelujah), featuring vocals by Mike and Gary, and a documentary DVD, Long Road to Cabo, about touring with Roth.

"I thought that tour would be really cool, and it wasn't," Hagar said. "He [Roth] was so pompous and demanding. He's a strange guy."

In 2002, with Van Halen still unreformed at this point, Hagar joined again with guitarists Neal Schon of Journey and later Joe Satriani to form a new side project called Planet Us, along with Van Halen member Michael Anthony on bass and Deen Castronovo (also of Journey) on drums. Despite having big intentions, the band only recorded two songs and played live a few times before dissolving when Hagar and Anthony reunited with Van Halen. The two songs, "Psycho Vertigo" and "Peephole," would not see release until Schon's Soul SirkUS released "Peephole" on 2003's "World Play" and Hagar's 2008 effort, Cosmic Universal Fashion.

After the successful tour with David Lee Roth, Hagar started thinking about his former Van Halen bandmates, calling Alex in late 2003 following a tip from a mutual friend. In 2004, Van Halen toured with Hagar while releasing a 2-CD greatest hits album, titled The Best of Both Worlds, featuring three new Van Halen tracks fronted by Hagar.

The subsequent tour brought on more problems, however, most notably Eddie Van Halen's alleged relapse into alcoholism. The relationship between Hagar and Van Halen eventually got so strained that they completed the tour using two separate charter jets, one for Hagar and Michael Anthony and one for Eddie and Alex. The tour ended with a somewhat infamous final show in Tucson, Arizona. As the show ended, Eddie smashed his guitar on stage sending shrapnel into the audience. This caused tensions backstage after the show eliminating the possibility of a new album being recorded. Hagar said in an interview (and later confirmed in greater detail in his 2011 autobiography) that Eddie had changed and was not the same person anymore.

In 2005, Hagar continued to play with the Waboritas as he toured the Atlantic coast and the Midwest and added ex-Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony. Hagar's 2006 tour with the Waboritas also included a segment with Anthony, playing as a band called the Other Half (a reference to Hagar and Anthony being the half of Van Halen that was not Van Halen by name) for a set of songs in the middle of the show, including both Hagar- and Roth-era tunes. Hagar released an album and DVD called Livin' It Up! In St. Louis with the Wabos on July 25, 2006. Hagar has a longstanding and strong relationship with St. Louis. He often credits St. Louis fans and the radio station KSHE in St. Louis with helping to launch his professional career.

In 2008, Hagar formed a supergroup named Chickenfoot with Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani. Their self-titled debut album was released in June 2009 and debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Music Chart. A brief tour was followed up by a second album, Chickenfoot III in 2011.

Hagar formed a new supergroup in 2014, featuring Michael Anthony, Waboritas guitarist Vic Johnson, and drummer Jason Bonham. The group was named Sammy Hagar and the Circle as according to Hagar, "this band has kinda taken me full circle in my career", featuring tracks from his solo hits, along with Montrose, Van Halen, and Chickenfoot. Led Zeppelin songs were also featured in homage to Led Zeppelin due to the fact that Jason is the son of Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Focusing on Sammy Hagar and the Circle meant Chickenfoot would be put on hiatus, helped by the fact the other supergroup gave Hagar some frustration in "spending a half-million on a record, writ[ing] and record[ing] for six months. It's a lot of work, and then to not sell many records." Sammy Hagar and the Circle began touring in 2014, with a live recording released on the album, At Your Service in May 2015. In August 2015, it was reported that the Circle were having discussions about making a studio record to follow up their live album, with Hagar stating, "I want to see what [the Circle] can do in the studio, I've got a vibe on what I think this band will be, and it ain't classic rock, believe it or not. I want to play, like American folk rock, with a heavy edge. Remember the Band? Yeah, write lyrics about America, and about the world. I just have a feeling that this band might be able to do that really well. We'll find out." Sammy Hagar and the Circle's debut studio album Space Between was released May 10, 2019, on BMG. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart, No. 1 on Billboard's US Independent Albums chart, and No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart. The sales start marked Hagar's third-largest sales week since Nielsen Music began tracking data in 1991.

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