Sammy Hagar is born on October 13th, 1947 in Monterey, CA. His plays both vocals and guitar. He was the rhythm guitarist for the band Montrose. Sammy was a boxer, but he gave it up. He began singing in the late '60s. He was with various local California bands. Such as, Skinny, the Fabulous Catillas, Justice Brothers and Dust Cloud. During this time, he built up a solid reputation for the Californian hard rock scene. He recorded two albums with Montrose before going solo in 1976. In his solo band, he took Montroses bassist, Bill Church. Montrose's drummer Denny Carmassi later joined Hagar's band, along with keyboardist Geoff Workman. Hagar's self-titled Sammy Hagar was his first chart entry; it eventually went gold. In 1979, he created a new supporting band featuring Workman, Church, guitarist Gary Pihl, and drummer Chuck Ruff. This lineup played on Hagar's most popular solo album, 1981's platinum Standing Hampton, plus 1982's gold Three Lock Box with only one member missing — drummer Ruff was replaced by David Lauser. After Three Lock Box and its number 13 hit single "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy," Hagar played several shows with guitarist Neal Schon, bassist Kenny Aaronson, and drummer Mike Shrieve; the group recorded a live album under the name HSAS, as well as a studio version of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale." His 1984 album VOA contained the hit single "I Can't Drive 55," which peaked at number 26.
In 1985, Hagar replaced David Lee Roth (original vocalist for Van Halen) in Van Halen. His first album with Van Halen was 5150 (which was released in 1986). After that album, Sammy released his final solo album in 1987. The title of the record was changed to I Never Said Goodbye in an MTV contest, but no copies of the record were ever issued with that name. He stayed with Van Halen through the remainder of the '80s and half of the '90s. During that time, the band had four other multi-platinum albums — OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991), LIVE: Right Here, Right Now (1993), Balance (1995)- right before tensions rose between Hagar and the rest of the band. In the summer of 1996, Hagar either quit Van Halen or he was fired. The band had Roth return to record two new songs for a best of album. Before hiring former Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone as Hagar's replacement. The entire incident became a media sensation, ensuring that Hagar's 1997 solo album Marching to Mars — his first in ten years — would be greeted with much media-generated fanfare. The album sold surprisingly well. It peaked in the Top 20 and re-establishing Hagar as a viable solo act. Hagar followed the success with Red Voodoo two years later; it too sold very respectably on the strength of the single "Mas Tequila," just missing the Top 20. Hagar's resurgence continued with 2000's Ten 13. After Van Halen fired Cherone from the band, they invited Hagar back into the band in 2004. They are currently touring. In August of 2004, a greatest hits collection is released. It is called: Essential Red Collection. It features all the hits. One song with Montrose, two previously unreleased songs, I can't Drive 55 and amongst others.
Bio written by: riff_master |
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