Sammy Hagar Songs Ranked
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947) also known as The Red Rocker, is an American singer-songwriter and entrepreneur. Hagar came to prominence in the 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose. He then launched a successful solo career, scoring an enduring hit in 1984 with “I Can’t Drive 55”. He enjoyed commercial success when he replaced David Lee Roth as the lead singer of Van Halen in 1985, but left in 1996. He returned to the band for a two-year reunion from 2003 to 2005. On March 12, 2007, Hagar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen. His musical style primarily consists of hard rock and heavy metal. Also a businessman, Hagar founded the Cabo Wabo Tequila brand and restaurant chain, as well as Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum. His current musical projects include being the lead singer of Chickenfoot and The Circle. Hagar also is the host of Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar on Mark Cuban’s cable network AXS TV. Here are all of Sammy Hagar songs ranked.
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15. Red (Sammy Hagar, 1977)
“Red”, maintains a slightly harder edge throughout and was always a staple of Hagar’s concerts. It’s in this area where the man retains a bruised and diminished relevance.”
14. Trans Am (Highway Wonderland) (Street Machine, 1979)
“Trans Am (Highway Wonderland)’ is just thunderously heavy for it’s day. This is the stuff to dive into.”
13. Three Lock Box (Three Lock Box, 1982)
“The title track refers not to sex, as commonly mistaken, but to a much more philosophical bent. In a 1994 interview Sammy explained as “It’s got to do with deep sea diving, when you look for a buried treasure. The ultimate treasure would be a sunken treasure with three locks on it, because that means it was the most valuable stuff that the queen had on that ship.”
12. Never Give Up (Three Lock Box, 1982)
“Decently catchy slab of pop-rock, but prepare for a virtual onslaught of cliches. The lyrics are very strong and most noteworthy is the guitar playing and the production on this album.”
See more: Sammy Hagar Albums Ranked
11. Eagles Fly (I Never Said Goodbye, 1987)
“Never cared for Hagar’s ‘party til you drop’ material prior to him joining Van Halen, but I always admired his raspy voice. Fortunately, a lot of that goofy vibe got toned down just a touch with VH and carried over (atleast for awhile) into his post VH solo career.”
10. You Make Me Crazy (Musical Chairs, 1977)
“I’s kinda bizarre to hear this for the first time. Unlike the Red Rocker’s more famous heavy/hard rock hits from the 80’s, this, his first charting single (#62 Billboard), has a very mellow yacht-rock vibe not unlike a cross between Jimmy Buffett and Boz Scaggs. And his guitar is barely noticeable. Sammy was definitely driving under 55 on this one.”
9. Winner Takes It All (Over the Top, 1987)
“A song worth listening to. I miss more rock in th¡s cd, although all the songs are ok when you are watching this “very 80s” movie.”
8. There’s Only One Way to Rock (Standing Hampton, 1982)
“Sammy Hagar’s 1981 solo release Standing Hampton is an epic slab of Hard Rock/Classic Heavy Metal at it’s finest. These songs just kill in their fiery intensity.”
7. (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay (Musical Chairs, 1977)
“Almost a decade before Michael Bolton pissed all over Otis’ grave with his version, Sammy got to it. It’s bearable, but the generic 70’s AOR sheen and Hagar’s half-assed vox do their best to remove any trace of actual soul.”
6. Heavy Metal (Standing Hampton, 1982)
“Sammy Hagar’s arena rockin’ anthem, “Heavy Metal”, aptly leads off the Heavy Metal soundtrack. The cosmic 1981 film, produced by Ivan Reitman, featured a number of noteworthy backing songs, with Hagar’s riff rolling contribution leading the way for the sci-fi-fantasy flick. the same name.”
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5. I’ll Fall in Love Again (Standing Hampton, 1982)
“Sammy went far from pissing me off here, congrats man. Any way shit that dude was old though he was in his mid 30’s even in his Van Halen hey day. Why was most of his music so annoying, this one was repitive and all but I just like it.”
4. Give to Live (I Never Said Goodbye, 1987)
“This song often gets pushed aside or forgotten. Even though the single was a #23 pop hit in America and #1 US rock track it seemed to quickly disappear from pop radio airplay. From a lyrical standpoint it ranks among Hagar’s finest writing (in my opinion). The lyrics are very personal and inspiring.”
3. Two Sides of Love (VOA, 1984)
“His vocals are in fine form and enough to draw the attention of his future bandmates in Van Halen offering them the easy transition from pop-metal to arena rock.”
2. Your Love is Driving Me Crazy (Three Lock Box, 1982)
“It’s incomprehensible (other than for money reasons) that Sammy could even consider let alone actually give up this standard to return the mediocrity and more recently downright awful being that the once wonderful Van Halen has degenerated into pop-rock, but prepare for a virtual onslaught of cliches. Also, somebody needs to give Sammy Hagar a lesson or two in botany.”
1. I Can’t Drive 55 (NASCAR: Full Throttle, 2001)
“Behind a simple riff, powered by major humbucker action, Hagar’s gas ‘n’ go “I Can’t Drive 55″ was the soundtrack for summertime street heat during the eighties.”