Samuel Roy Hagar, also known as The Red Rocker, is an American singer, guitarist, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". He enjoyed commercial success when he replaced David Lee Roth as the second lead vocalist of Van Halen in 1985, but left in 1996. He returned to the band 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, heavy metal, and glam metal.
Montrose was an American hard rock band formed in 1973 and named after guitarist and founder Ronnie Montrose. The band's original lineup featured vocalist Sammy Hagar, who later found greater fame as a solo artist and as the lead singer for American hard rock band Van Halen. Rounding out the original foursome were bassist Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi. The group disbanded in early 1977.
Ronald Douglas Montrose was an American rock guitarist who led the bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison (1971–72), Herbie Hancock (1971), Beaver & Krause (1971), Boz Scaggs (1971), Edgar Winter, Gary Wright (1975), The Beau Brummels (1975), Dan Hartman (1976), Tony Williams (1978), The Neville Brothers (1987), Marc Bonilla and Sammy Hagar (1997). The first Montrose album has often been cited as "America's answer to Led Zeppelin". Ronnie Montrose is often referred to as one of the most influential guitarists in early hard rock.
"'Bad Motor Scooter" is a song by American hard rock band Montrose released on the bands 1973 debut album It, along with "Rock Candy", was arguably the best known song by the band. The song was penned by frontman Sammy Hagar. Its introduction, a distorted electric slide guitar sound which closely emulates that of a revving motorcycle, became the defining component of the song. When the song was conceived before this guitar sound, the band and Ted Templeman were not impressed because they thought it was missing a "hook", to make it stand out. Ronnie Montrose stumbled upon it while messing with a slide and fuzz box one day in the studio. Playing his guitar in Open D tuning, Montrose improvised what became the motorcycle sound — although Templeman and engineer Donn Landee kept him going when they failed to get the recording tape rolling.
Gary O. Pihl is an American rock musician and guitarist best known for playing with Sammy Hagar and the hard rock band Boston.
Nine on a Ten Scale is the debut solo album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released in May 1976 by Capitol Records. It was his first release after his departure from Montrose in 1975.
VOA is the eighth studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released on July 23, 1984 by Geffen Records.
Musical Chairs is the third studio album by American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released in October 1977 by Capitol Records. The lineup features three quarters of the classic Montrose lineup, sans Ronnie Montrose.
Three Lock Box is the seventh studio album by American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released on November 30, 1982 by Geffen Records. This album has appearances by Loverboy's Mike Reno, Journey's Jonathan Cain and Mr. Mister's Richard Page. The album peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200 album charts on April 9, 1983. His only top 20 solo hit, "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy", reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983 and #3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock songs chart.
Danger Zone is the fifth studio album by American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released on June 21, 1980 by Capitol Records. This is his last studio album during his tenure with Capitol Records. The album includes appearances by then Journey singer Steve Perry and guitarist Neal Schon. The album peaked at number 85 on the Billboard 200 album charts on July 12, 1980.
Street Machine is the fourth studio album by American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released in September 1979 by Capitol Records. The album peaked at number 71 on the Billboard 200 album charts on October 20, 1979.
All Night Long is Sammy Hagar's first live album. The album was recorded during concerts in San Francisco, San Antonio, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz and Santa Monica.
Live 1980 is a live album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, recorded in 1980 on tour for his then-newest album, Danger Zone and released in 1983.
The Best of Sammy Hagar is a Sammy Hagar compilation album.
Live: Hallelujah is a live album by Sammy Hagar and The Waboritas.
Greatest Hits Live! is a Sammy Hagar live album. It is a compilation of live tracks from his officially released live albums, All Night Long and Live 1980
Rematch is the first US-released Sammy Hagar compilation album. After Sammy left Capitol Records for Geffen in 1981, and after Rick Springfield had a hit with the Hagar-penned "I've Done Everything for You", this collection was released to capitalize on that momentum.
The Anthology is a unique Sammy Hagar compilation album, in that it combines tracks from both of his Capitol Records and Geffen Records eras. Additionally, four tracks from his two Montrose albums on Warner Bros. Records are included.
Masters of Rock is a Sammy Hagar compilation album released in the UK. It is notable in that it includes a live version of "Space Station #5" previously only found on the UK-released live album Loud & Clear. The track listing also incorrectly spells "Urban Guerilla" as "Gorilla".
The Very Best of Montrose is the only compilation album by American hard rock band Montrose. It was released in 2000 by Rhino Records. The album contains songs from the group's five albums, the first four in consecutive years in the mid-seventies and another from 1987.
