| Unboxed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | March 15, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1981 - 1993 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 49:34 | |||
| Label | Geffen Records | |||
| Producer | Mike Clink | |||
| Sammy Hagar chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone |  [2] |
Unboxed is a compilation album of Sammy Hagar's recording career at Geffen Records. It features two previously unreleased songs, "High Hopes" and "Buying My Way Into Heaven". It was released on March 15, 1994.
In 1993, Geffen's A&R representative John Kalodner called Hagar to say the label wanted to release a compilation called "Unboxed". Hagar approved the title, as it poked fun at all the artists and bands that were releasing boxed set collections at the time. He agreed to record two new songs for financial reasons: Sammy was going through a divorce with his first wife Betsy Berardi, and the album would help settle it. Berardi wanted the division of royalties from songs he wrote while the two were married. Hagar convinced her to accept a fixed amount instead, which would be Geffen's payment for Unboxed. [3] In an interview with Howard Stern in 2011, Sammy said he paid his wife nearly $9 million, and $23,000 per month for many years to follow. Sammy never kept a penny on that release, as all the money it made was given to his ex-wife, as part of the divorce settlement.
In order for the album to be released by Geffen, Sammy wanted at least $500,000 for two new songs. Eventually he negotiated a publishing deal for Unboxed which gave him around $750,000. There would be no single released, or new video. The only promotion Hagar would take part would be a two-week press junket, half in New York and half in Los Angeles, which included the Late Show with David Letterman and appeared on CNN's Showbiz Today. [3] The two new songs had been presented to the Van Halen camp many years prior, but rejected. Sammy recorded the songs with producer Mike Clink.
According to Sammy's autobiography, the Van Halen brothers did not want Sammy to put out an album. During this time, Van Halen was in the process of hiring a new manager after Ed Leffler died in October 1993, and behind the scenes, the band was beginning to fall apart. Sammy created a new publishing company called, "Nine Music" and insisted that his portions of the Van Halen publishing no longer be combined with Van Halen's publishing company, "Yessup." He had a clause in his contract with Van Halen that said he could record a solo album after each Van Halen studio album. Sammy would receive upwards of $1.5 for each album. When Van Halen's new manager came into the picture, Ray Danniels had this clause removed, which caused tension between Sammy and the Van Halen camp. Another bad moment occurred during the promotion, as Hagar wanted to bring Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony with him to The Tonight Show , but the Van Halens complained and eventually Sammy gave up on his appearance.
In 1997, Hagar declared that he considered Unboxed the beginning of the end of his tenure in Van Halen, and added that "If I would have ever dreamed that I wouldn't be in Van Halen anymore and was going to have resume my solo career again, I would have never contributed anything towards my own greatest hits package, even for the money." Eddie Van Halen complained that Hagar was against his project of a Van Halen compilation when he had a few greatest hits albums during his tenure as the singer - though the others, Capitol Records's Red Hot! (1989) and The Best of Sammy Hagar (1992), unlike Unboxed, were released without Hagar's consent, as his contract with Capitol gave him no control over it. [3]
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 [6] | 51 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) [7] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and for the virtuosity of its guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Michael Anthony Sobolewski is an American musician who was the bassist and backing vocalist for the hard rock band Van Halen from 1974 to 2006. He performed on Van Halen's first 11 albums and was their longest-tenured bassist. Following his 2006 departure, Anthony has collaborated with fellow former Van Halen bandmate Sammy Hagar for the supergroups Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle. In addition to his music career, he markets a line of hot sauces named Mad Anthony and related products. Anthony was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen in 2007.
Sam Roy Hagar, also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. In the early 1970s he was a member of the hard rock band Montrose before launching a solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". 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. In 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.
OU812 is the eighth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1988 and is the band's second album to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. Van Halen began work on the album in September 1987 and completed it in April 1988, one month before its release.
Live: Right Here, Right Now. is the first live album by American rock band Van Halen, released in 1993. It is the band's only live album featuring Sammy Hagar and the only live album by Van Halen until the release of Tokyo Dome Live in Concert in 2015.
The Waboritas is the name of Sammy Hagar's backup band, though they are frequently and more recently referred to as "The Wabos". They were formed in 1997 and have been active ever since. Their only hiatus was during the Van Halen tour of 2004, during which Hagar kept them fully paid.
The Essential Red Collection is a greatest hits album by Sammy Hagar. It includes some of his early works, from "Bad Motor Scooter" with Montrose, released demos, film soundtrack songs to more recent material. It was released in 2004 on Hip-O Records. It excludes songs from his time with Van Halen.
"Right Now" is a song written by the group Van Halen for their album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. The song reflects on living for the moment and not being afraid of making a change.
"Humans Being" is a song recorded and contributed by American rock band Van Halen for the 1996 disaster film Twister. The song marks the last recording to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar before his departure from the band in June 1996. "Humans Being" was released as a radio-only single in the United States on April 23, 1996, peaking atop the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for two weeks later that year. In Japan, the single was released on CD in July 1996.
Gary O. Pihl is an American rock musician and guitarist best known for playing with Sammy Hagar and the hard rock band Boston.
VOA is the eighth studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released on July 23, 1984, by Geffen Records.
Standing Hampton is the sixth studio album by American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released on January 6, 1982, by Geffen. This is his first album after moving from Capitol Records to Geffen. It was his first album to achieve RIAA certification, eventually going platinum, and five of its singles charted in either the mainstream rock or pop singles charts.
Three Lock Box is the seventh studio album by the American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released on December 6, 1982 by Geffen Records. This album has appearances by Loverboy's Mike Reno, Journey's Jonathan Cain and Mr. Mister's Richard Page. It 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.
I Never Said Goodbye is the ninth studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released on June 23, 1987, by Geffen Records. It was his first solo album since 1984's VOA, released while he was a member of Van Halen. The album was recorded in ten days under a contractual obligation to Geffen Records as a condition of his leaving the company to join Van Halen and their record label, Warner Bros. Records. The album spent 23 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and became his highest charting solo album, peaking at number 14 on August 15, 1987.
David Lauser is an American rock drummer, who is most famous for playing with Sammy Hagar.
Live: Hallelujah is a live album by Sammy Hagar and The Waboritas.
Jesse Harms is an American musician and songwriter. He has worked with Sammy Hagar, David Lee Roth, Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon, Bad English, Guitar Shorty, Patty Smyth, and McAuley Schenker Group.
The Van Halen Tour 2004 was a North American concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen. It was the band's first tour since 1998 and saw the return of lead singer Sammy Hagar, who left the band in 1996 after tensions with lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
"I Can't Drive 55" is the lead single and first track from Sammy Hagar's eighth studio album VOA in 1984. Perpetuated by a very successful music video, it became a concert staple that continued throughout Hagar's tours as a member of Van Halen. The song is a reference to the since-repealed National Maximum Speed Law that set speed limits at 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) in the United States.
Sammy Hagar & Friends is the sixteenth studio album by American hard rock musician Sammy Hagar, released on September 24, 2013, by Frontiers Records.
