Sammy Hagar disses David Lee Roth, claims he makes 6 times more money

Article content

When it comes to the many eras of Van Halen, Sammy Hagar still thinks his time as frontman was the best.

Article content

Hagar, 75, led the eponymous rock quartet founded by brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen from 1985 to 1996 after original lead singer David Lee Roth exited the group to pursue a solo career.

Article content

Hagar completed four studio albums as part of Van Halen — 5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Balance — before leaving after Eddie recruited Roth for a track on the band’s first Greatest Hits package. He briefly reunited with Van Halen in 2004, before Roth returned to the fold in 2007.

Article content

But in a new interview with Steve-O’s Wild Ride Podcast, Hagar hit out at Roth’s lacklustre career as a solo artist.

“I was selling out arenas. I was selling out amphitheaters,” said Hagar. “Dave, he had that sort of a big album, one kind of a big album, but he didn’t have a solo career. He was playing small places.”

While Van Halen was in hibernation, Hagar and Roth hit the road together for an acrimonious co-headlining tour in 2002, but there were squabbles over money.

“When he came in with me, he was making, like, $25,000 a night, I was making $150,000 a night, and they said, ‘Oh you guys are gonna make the same money. Dave gets to make 150,’” Hagar recalled.

“He ain’t f—ing made 150 in his life except in Van Halen! But I said, ‘I’ve gotta do this.’ So I bent over backwards. And he still always tried to f— with the rules.”

Article content

Article content

Hagar also took a swipe at Roth’s carefree stage persona, claiming it was all for show.

“He’s not a fun guy. He doesn’t play well with others. I’m not sure what his problem is,” Hagar said. “He just always is about, ‘How can I make this guy look bad?’ And not just me — in life. He’s a chest-beating motherf—er. And God Bless him, ’cause the early stuff is frickin’ great.”

But Hagar said that Roth’s solo career was a bust because he didn’t “take care of his voice.”

“(He) doesn’t care about singing. If he did, he’d take care of his voice, or he’d take voice lessons and get warmed up and do something. The guy sang so bad last time he was doing shows, it was embarrassing,” Hagar said.

The latest statements echo Hagar’s earlier criticisms of Roth.

Article content

“The difference between him and I (is) I sincerely care. I care about everything I do and I care how it affects people and I care what they think,” Hagar told told the Inside With Paulo Baron Internet show in 2021. “I care that it touches them and it makes them happy. And what is important to me is enlightening and elevating people spiritually and making them happy and making them have big dreams, making them want to be better themselves. And that’s my goal with everything I do … I don’t think he cares about anything like that.”

Roth retired from performing live in 2021 after a run of shows in Las Vegas.

“I’m throwing in the shoes,” he said at the time.

“I am encouraged and compelled to really come to grips with how short time is, and my time is probably even shorter,” Roth added.

Article content

His retirement came after Gene Simmons likened Roth to “bloated naked Elvis on the bathroom floor” and revealed the rocker had been dumped as KISS’ opening act because he was “past his prime.”

“Every once in a while I run off at the mouth, and I said a few things that hurt David’s feelings,” Simmons told the Sun later that same year. “I apologized. But as a statement of fact, no frontman ever, including Elvis, was able to do what David did during the heyday of Van Halen. No one touched him — even Paul Stanley. I’ll get in trouble for saying that.”

Article content

After Van Halen’s final tour in 2015, Hagar floated the possibility of another trek honouring the legacies of both frontmen.

“My dream tour is the Sam and Dave tour with Ed, Al and Mike,” Hagar told Rolling Stone in 2020. “Let (Eddie’s son Wolfgang) put his band together and open. I have a son, Andrew Hagar, who makes great music. Let Andrew open, let Wolfie play with his band in the middle and then have the Sam and Dave tour where we do an hour each. An hour with Dave songs and an hour with me.”

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Eddie Van Halen died in October 2020 following a long battle with cancer. He was 65.

mdaniell@postmedia.com

Article content

When it comes to the many eras of Van Halen, Sammy Hagar still thinks his time as frontman was the best.

Article content

Hagar, 75, led the eponymous rock quartet founded by brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen from 1985 to 1996 after original lead singer David Lee Roth exited the group to pursue a solo career.

Article content

Hagar completed four studio albums as part of Van Halen — 5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Balance — before leaving after Eddie recruited Roth for a track on the band’s first Greatest Hits package. He briefly reunited with Van Halen in 2004, before Roth returned to the fold in 2007.

Article content

But in a new interview with Steve-O’s Wild Ride Podcast, Hagar hit out at Roth’s lacklustre career as a solo artist.

“I was selling out arenas. I was selling out amphitheaters,” said Hagar. “Dave, he had that sort of a big album, one kind of a big album, but he didn’t have a solo career. He was playing small places.”

While Van Halen was in hibernation, Hagar and Roth hit the road together for an acrimonious co-headlining tour in 2002, but there were squabbles over money.

“When he came in with me, he was making, like, $25,000 a night, I was making $150,000 a night, and they said, ‘Oh you guys are gonna make the same money. Dave gets to make 150,’” Hagar recalled.

“He ain’t f—ing made 150 in his life except in Van Halen! But I said, ‘I’ve gotta do this.’ So I bent over backwards. And he still always tried to f— with the rules.”

Article content

Article content

Hagar also took a swipe at Roth’s carefree stage persona, claiming it was all for show.

“He’s not a fun guy. He doesn’t play well with others. I’m not sure what his problem is,” Hagar said. “He just always is about, ‘How can I make this guy look bad?’ And not just me — in life. He’s a chest-beating motherf—er. And God Bless him, ’cause the early stuff is frickin’ great.”

But Hagar said that Roth’s solo career was a bust because he didn’t “take care of his voice.”

“(He) doesn’t care about singing. If he did, he’d take care of his voice, or he’d take voice lessons and get warmed up and do something. The guy sang so bad last time he was doing shows, it was embarrassing,” Hagar said.

The latest statements echo Hagar’s earlier criticisms of Roth.

Article content

“The difference between him and I (is) I sincerely care. I care about everything I do and I care how it affects people and I care what they think,” Hagar told told the Inside With Paulo Baron Internet show in 2021. “I care that it touches them and it makes them happy. And what is important to me is enlightening and elevating people spiritually and making them happy and making them have big dreams, making them want to be better themselves. And that’s my goal with everything I do … I don’t think he cares about anything like that.”

Roth retired from performing live in 2021 after a run of shows in Las Vegas.

“I’m throwing in the shoes,” he said at the time.

“I am encouraged and compelled to really come to grips with how short time is, and my time is probably even shorter,” Roth added.

Article content

His retirement came after Gene Simmons likened Roth to “bloated naked Elvis on the bathroom floor” and revealed the rocker had been dumped as KISS’ opening act because he was “past his prime.”

“Every once in a while I run off at the mouth, and I said a few things that hurt David’s feelings,” Simmons told the Sun later that same year. “I apologized. But as a statement of fact, no frontman ever, including Elvis, was able to do what David did during the heyday of Van Halen. No one touched him — even Paul Stanley. I’ll get in trouble for saying that.”

Article content

After Van Halen’s final tour in 2015, Hagar floated the possibility of another trek honouring the legacies of both frontmen.

“My dream tour is the Sam and Dave tour with Ed, Al and Mike,” Hagar told Rolling Stone in 2020. “Let (Eddie’s son Wolfgang) put his band together and open. I have a son, Andrew Hagar, who makes great music. Let Andrew open, let Wolfie play with his band in the middle and then have the Sam and Dave tour where we do an hour each. An hour with Dave songs and an hour with me.”

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Eddie Van Halen died in October 2020 following a long battle with cancer. He was 65.

mdaniell@postmedia.com