Sammy Hagar

Born in Salinas and raised in Fontana, California, Sammy Hagar first made his mark in the early 1970s on the American hard rock scene as the singer of Montrose, with the albums Montrose (1973) and Paper Money (1974). After that stint, Hagar launched a solo career blending hard rock, heavy metal and a more direct songwriting approach, sometimes edging toward pop rock, driven by a taut, clear voice and songs built around massive riffs and highly accessible choruses. His solo discography began with Nine on a Ten Scale (1976), followed by Standing Hampton and Three Lock Box in 1982, before VOA in 1984, which includes “I Can’t Drive 55.” In 1985 Sammy Hagar joined Van Halen and served as the band’s singer until 1996, and again from 2003 to 2005. That period produced four studio albums — 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) and Balance (1995) — combining melodic hard rock with arena rock. Concurrently and after his time in Van Halen, Hagar pursued numerous collaborative projects, from HSAS to Sammy Hagar & the Waboritas, then Chickenfoot with Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith, and later Sammy Hagar and the Circle, where he revisited the different stages of his career.