Sammy Hagar Apologizes to Van Halen: 'I Never Want to Take an Enemy to My Grave'

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Sammy Hagar Apologizes to Van Halen: 'I Never Want to Take an Enemy to My Grave'


staff@people.com (Jordan Runtagh)

August 19, 2016

As the one-time frontman of Van Halen and full-time badass known the world over as the Red Rocker, it's hard to think of Sammy Hagar slowing down. But at 68 years old, the music icon is beginning to look at life a little differently.

"It's really odd for me to think about my age," he admits in an exclusive clip from this Saturday's episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now?

He says that the loss of David Bowie to cancer earlier this year was a major wakeup call. "I had no idea he was sick, he was a private guy [and] one of my all time heroes. And then Glenn Frey. The guys that are dying at my age now all around me, it blows my mind."

With the additional deaths of Prince, George Martin and Merle Haggard, the musical community has faced a rough year. But the tragedies have helped Hagar maintain a sense of gratitude. "It makes me think about how lucky I am and it makes me want to not have any more enemies ... I want to never take an enemy to my grave."

The statement brings to mind Hagar's highly publicized disputes with his former bandmates in Van Halen, which he joined in 1986 following the departure of David Lee Roth. A decade later he left the group under highly acrimonious circumstances, and has lashed out at his ex musical colleagues a number of times in the press.

But these days, he's ready to "forgive and forget" the past drama. "The whole 'Van Halen issue,' I've really put that behind me," he says in a second clip of the upcoming episode. "I'm not asking to get back in a band and do all that again – that's work! I don't want to do that. I just want to be friends. I just want to say sorry for anything bad I said about you."

Oprah: Where Are They Now? featuring Sammy Hagar airs Saturday, Aug. 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OWN.

https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/sammy-hagar-apologizes-van-halen-173008584.html
 

JohnnyTheFox

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Not a big fan of Sam or the stuff he did with VH music-wise. But kudos to him for this, the dysfunctional brothers wasted a lot of time with drama and childish nonsense starting around the mid 80s and continuing into the 90s. VH used to be a spectacular unit from inception until 84 and were a real treat for the ears and eyes. Shame..
 

jimmy40

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Love Van Halen and Van Hagar. Is that possible? DLR was a hell of a front man for VH, DLR sucked on his own. Hagar was great either way. The Standing Hampton tour was one of the best live shows I ever saw.
 

LittleBoyBlue

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Love Van Halen and Van Hagar. Is that possible? DLR was a hell of a front man for VH, DLR sucked on his own. Hagar was great either way. The Standing Hampton tour was one of the best live shows I ever saw.

DLR was great
Hagar made VH his for 10 years.

Yes. Very possible.
 

JohnnyTheFox

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Love Van Halen and Van Hagar. Is that possible? DLR was a hell of a front man for VH, DLR sucked on his own. Hagar was great either way. The Standing Hampton tour was one of the best live shows I ever saw.

DLR sucked on his own?

When VH put out 5150 and Roth put out Eat em and Smile I bought both albums and saw both tours. Roth's was hands down better and it wasn't even close, of course having Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan did hurt either. VH pretty much turned into VH lite and at least for 1 album{EEAS} Roth put out the better product/show. But yes several years afterwards Roth lost momentum as well as a little popularity.
 

YosemiteSam

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I saw DLR on his own once live. It wasn't good. He opened for both Collective Soul and Coal Chamber. (this was before Coal Chamber was even known) That tells you how far he dropped on his own when he was the first of a three band show and the second band was a complete unknown.

I think that was the last concert I saw at the Bronco Bowl in Dallas.

Anyhow, Van Halen with either guy was great music.
 

cml750

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I loved Hagar before, during, and after van Halen. He is an amazing singer and musician. I liked Van Halen equally with Roth and Hagar although I thought of them as two different bands. As mentioned earlier in the thread, Hagar was great both with and without Van Halen while Roth was only good with VH.
 

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Sammy's a cool dude. Just wants to have fun, and it sounds like he pretty much does. More power to him.
 

Reverend Conehead

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Luv Sammy Hagar. I think he did a good job fronting for Van Halen. The band had a completely different sound with him on vocals, one that I liked.
 

Hardline

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DLR with Van Halen was the second greatest front man in rock and roll, Robert Plant being the very best .
DLR without Van Halen was nothing more than a lounge act.

I pretty much forgot about Van Halen during the Hagar years.
 

Reverend Conehead

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I liked the band with David Lee Roth, but I felt like they declined after the first two albums. DLR Van Halen for the first two albums was the best Van Halen ever IMO. Their albums after that kept disappointing me. By the time Hagar came along to front them, I was ready for the change. I liked their sound with Hagar better than recent albums, but not as much as the first two.
 

jimmy40

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DLR sucked on his own?

When VH put out 5150 and Roth put out Eat em and Smile I bought both albums and saw both tours. Roth's was hands down better and it wasn't even close, of course having Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan did hurt either. VH pretty much turned into VH lite and at least for 1 album{EEAS} Roth put out the better product/show. But yes several years afterwards Roth lost momentum as well as a little popularity.
 

Fritsch_the_cat

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DLR with Van Halen was the second greatest front man in rock and roll, Robert Plant being the very best .
DLR without Van Halen was nothing more than a lounge act.

I pretty much forgot about Van Halen during the Hagar years.

^ What he said.
 

JohnnyTheFox

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I will put anything he did with Vai/Sheehan against anything from the Sam/VH "lite" years. But yes after these and especially A little aint enough his popularity waned immensely. Just because he did a country version of Jump doesn't mean he sucked w/o the dysfunction brothers.:laugh:
 

trickblue

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DLR with Van Halen was the second greatest front man in rock and roll, Robert Plant being the very best

Freddie-Mercury-in-1986-244006.jpg
 

jimmy40

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I will put anything he did with Vai/Sheehan against anything from the Sam/VH "lite" years. But yes after these and especially A little aint enough his popularity waned immensely. Just because he did a country version of Jump doesn't mean he sucked w/o the dysfunction brothers.:laugh:
oh it gets better
 
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