Watch Sammy Hagar Sing “Jump” And “Panama” For The First Time In 20 Years
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These days, classic rock yowler Sammy Hagar isn’t getting along too well with his fellow former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth, but that’s not stopping him from adding Diamond Dave-era Van Halen songs to his live show. Hagar replaced DLR as Van Halen’s lead singer in 1986, which put him in the awkward position of having to sing the band’s Roth-led songs in concert. Now, for the first time in a couple of decades, he’s singing those songs again.
On Saturday night, Sammy Hagar kicked off a solo tour at West Palm Beach’s ITHINK Financial Amphitheatre. The tour is focused on Hagar’s Van Halen years, and his backing band features VH bassist Michael Anthony, as well as guitar-shredding legend Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham. As Blabbermouth reports, Hagar went on Howard Stern before the tour began and said that special guests like Roth might join him: “If David Lee Roth wants to come out and join us, come on, motherfucker. You are welcome.” He quickly clarified that he meant for individual shows, not for the entire tour: “No fucking way.”
Sammy Hagar recently told Ultimate Classic Rock why he’s OK with singing old Van Halen songs, including the David Lee Roth ones, on this tour:
I’m not trying to make any kind of a statement, I’m just trying to play for the fans. This is for the people. This is the “thank you” tour, for all of the fans who followed us for all of those years and have been waiting 20 years for some other kind of a reunion — my era, anyway, for sure.
Last night’s set included Sammy Hagar solo hits like “Mas Tequila” and “I Can’t Drive 55,” but it was dominated by Van Halen stuff. For the first time since his 2004 reunion tour with Van Halen, Hagar sang David Lee Roth-era VH hits “Panama” and “Jump.” Judging by the live videos, the band sounded a lot like the actual Van Halen records, which is quite a feat. Watch some fan videos below.