David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar? (Poll below)
Which version of Van Halen are you a fan of?
Many people like both versions of the band, but huge numbers of Van Halen fans are bitterly divided on which incarnation of the band is best.
Never has a hugely successful band had such success with one lead singer, cut ties with that singer, then gone on to have such continued success with a new lead singer.
How successful were they under each lead singer?
The David Lee Roth version of Van Halen charted 11 songs into the Billboard Top-100 charts during his time with the band.
The Sammy Hagar version of Van Halen charted 11 songs into the BillBoard Top-100 charts during his time with the band.
What a coincidence huh?
If you combine the Billboard Top-100 Charts and the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts, David Lee Roth charted 19 singles, while Sammy Hagar charted 28 singles.
Van Halen started out in 1974 with the name “Mammoth“. The group found that another group was already using that name, so the name “Van Halen” was adopted.
With the 1978 release of their album “Van Halen“, the group was launched into Rock Music stardom.
At that time, Van Halen was:
David Lee Roth – Vocals
Eddie Van Halen – Guitars, Keyboards
Alex Van Halen – Drums
Michael Anthony – Bass
The group went on to release such hits as:
Runnin with the Devil
You Really Got Me
Jaime’s Cryin
Ain’t Talkin bout Love
Dance the Night Away
Beautiful Girls
And the Cradle will Rock
Pretty Woman
Dancing in the Streets
Hot for Teacher
Jump
Panama
I’ll Wait
and many others…
Tensions had been mounting for years between David Lee Roth and the other members of the band and in April of 1985, Roth left the group.
A search began for a new lead singer. Eddie Van Halen surprisingly offered the job to Scandal lead singer Patty Smyth but she declined.
The band then hired Sammy Hagar, former lead singer of Montrose and a successful solo artist, to lead Van Halen.
The first album with Hagar on lead vocals was “5150” which was released in 1986 and is still is considered to be the strongest album of the Hagar era.
With Hagar on vocals, the band released singles such as:
Best of Both Worlds
Dreams
Love Walks In
Summer Nights
Why Can’t This be Love
When It’s Love
Black and Blue
Finish What you Started
Feels so Good
Top of the World
Right Now
Can’t Stop Loving You
Humans Being
and many others…
During the Hagar era, Van Halen was:
Sammy Hagar – Vocals, Guitar
Eddie Van Halen – Guitars, Keyboards
Alex Van Halen – Drums
Michael Anthony – Bass
Just as with David Lee Roth, tensions arose between Sammy Hagar and members of the band and he ended up leaving Van Halen in 1996.
The years since 1996 have been turbulent for the band. For a period from 1996-1999 the band used lead singer Gary Cherone but did not find success on the charts.
The group went on hiatus from 1999-2003 and did not release any material or tour.
From 2003-2005 the group re-united with Sammy Hagar before that version again fell apart.
From 2006 to the present, the group has again been fronted by David Lee Roth.
Michael Anthony left the group in 2006 and was replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s son with Actress Valerie Bertinelli, Wolfgang Van Halen. He was 15 yrs old when he started playing with the band.
In 2007, Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The members inducted were David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and Sammy Hagar. Tensions remained so high within the members and former members that only Hagar and Anthony showed up at the induction ceremony.
The group, with David Lee Roth on lead vocals, still tours to this day.
Gotta vote for Diamond Dave, sorry. He was lead when I first discovered Van Halen. Mind you, Sammy is my patron saint, for one particular song – “I Can’t Drive 55″. That was my theme song (and my driving method) once I got a car that could actually GET to 55 mph in something less than an hour. Mind you, the fastest I ever got in a street car on the road was 105 – which does still work (“Gonna write me up for 1-zero-5/Post my face ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’”).
Maybe one of these days, I can relieve those adventures…..
By: John Erickson on August 19, 2011
at 9:07 am
No-Hio – Around the DFW area, that song has been modified to “I can’t drive 25….” which is about as fast as you will get up to…even in light traffic…..
By: TheIdiotSpeaketh on August 19, 2011
at 10:07 am
Ditto in the Chicago area. My high-speed experience was 1 in the morning (0100 for you military types) coming around the bottom of Lake Michigan on I-90 (I-94?) by the Holiday Star Theatre in Indiana. My guts ran out at 105 – though the car was straining at the top of 3rd gear (3-speed automatic transmission). With a 5-speed manual, I’d bet for at least 115, possibly 120. Not that I was EVER that crazy again – I couldn’t be, our Subie topped out around 97-98, and the Buick wagon’s aerodynamics limit it to just over 100. I ran out of straight road test-driving the Toyota Supra Twin-Turbo north of 125……
By: John Erickson on August 19, 2011
at 10:34 am
Eddie’s playing seemed to have more of an edge during the Roth era, even if you ignore songs like “Love Walks In”. Sure, “F*CK” brought back some of that edge, but Sammy’s voice just didn’t fit the way Dave’s did. Hope the new album really comes out in 2012. We’ve waited long enough for this.
By: Rockindonkey on October 20, 2011
at 8:02 pm
Either way it works out for you. Van Halen is ledgendary. I have enjoyed all 3 eras. Gary Cherrone didn’t last but gave it the old college try. Any way you cut it, they still ROCK!
By: Joe on December 27, 2011
at 1:53 pm
I saw Van Halen in 1979, two weeks after they released their 2nd album. They were great! My vote goes to Dave. Sammy is better on his own anyway!
By: Richard Jester on January 2, 2012
at 7:37 pm
Diamond Dave FOREVER!!!
By: Rob on January 5, 2012
at 3:43 pm
sammy brought alot to the table period ! he also gave the band alot more options being the strong guitar player that he is . vocally Dave pales by comparison . and Sammy is far more emotionally stable than any of them . they did great things together , and i loved it all ! thank you all to Van Hagar ! and what the fuck did Mikey do to get shit on like this ? wolfy has no biz being on stage with them much less in the band WTF ? REALLY ? !!! THAT BEING SAID DLR IS AND ALWAYS BE THE KEY ELEMENT TO THEM SOUNDING LIKE AND BEING THE ULTIMATE PARTY BAND DLR GETS MY VOTE NOW AND ALWAYS !!! DIAMOND DAVE IS THE ALL TIME HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION FRONTMAN FOR ROCK-N-ROLL HANDS DOWN ! THROW YOUR HAT IN BOYS !! MESS WITH THE BEST AND LAY WITH THE REST !!! HELLO THEY’RE BAAAACK ! YAHOOOOO !!!!
By: frank altherr on January 11, 2012
at 6:14 pm
Sammy over Dave? Pfffft! The energy, edge and the pure sound, known as “Van Halen” was and is from the “original” Van Halen. Whether it was youth, originalism or unique sound, Dave, Eddie and the band were on top of the world. Eddie’s riffs were his own if not out of the mold of Frank Marino of the Mahogany Rush band. Lyrical riffs, Dave’s jumps, 120 db concerts are what made them famous. Now that Eddie has sobered up, I suspect he… and Dave may have one last “hurrah” for all of us.
The sooner the better!
By: JD on January 14, 2012
at 8:09 pm