Sammy Hagar Opens Up on 21-Year Rift with Alex Van Halen: "I'm Still Out Here Doing It—and That Bothers Him"
In a candid new interview with Rolling Stone, Sammy Hagar has broken his silence on the long-standing rift between him and Alex Van Halen—revealing they haven’t spoken in over two decades. Alex, who notably refused to mention Sammy by name in his recent memoir Brothers, has apparently shut the door on any form of communication, and Hagar is finally offering his side of the story.
“I’ve asked people like Irving Azoff, ‘What’s the problem?’” Hagar says. “Some say it’s about Cabo Wabo—that the band gave it to me when it was losing money, and after I turned it into a massive success, Alex got mad. But they gave it to me! I signed off on everything and took the risk. Now they’re angry I made it work?”
But the Cabo story is only part of the tension. Hagar also points to his brutally honest 2011 memoir Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock, where he chronicled Eddie Van Halen’s struggles during their final tour together. While Sammy says he’s not looking to drag Eddie’s name through the mud again, the damage may have already been done.
Still, Hagar believes something deeper is fueling Alex’s resentment. “I think Al’s mad because I’m still out there doing it—with Mike [Anthony]—and he can’t. He’s not a frontman, not a songwriter. And I don’t think he wants to—or can—play drums anymore. I’d feel terrible if I couldn’t do it either. But I’m happy, man. And being happy really pisses people off.”
Hagar adds with a smirk, “Al, I’m making you money out here—selling Van Halen records, keeping the legacy alive. Just leave me alone, and I’ll do the same.”
Alex, for his part, has offered a different vision of Van Halen’s legacy. In interviews promoting Brothers, he explained why the book ends in 1984, skipping over the entire "Van Hagar" era and beyond. “The original band—that was the magic,” Alex told Rolling Stone and USA Today. “After that, it wasn’t the same. We did good work, but the spirit, the fabric, the bond—it changed.”
Asked about the Best Of All Worlds tour featuring Hagar, Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham, Alex didn’t mince words: “I’m not interested. They’re not doing the band justice. That’s not my business.”
In fact, Alex never once mentioned Hagar by name during the Rolling Stone interview. Instead, he referred to post-1984 Van Halen simply as: “We had a lot of other singers over the years.”
Despite the cold shoulder, Hagar insists he and Eddie reconciled before the guitarist’s death in 2020. “I’m at peace with Eddie,” Sammy says. “That was important to me.”
Hagar fronted Van Halen from 1985 to 1996, delivering four No. 1 albums—5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Balance—before the band’s brief 2004 reunion. That tour ended on a sour note, with Anthony forced to take a pay cut and sign away rights to the band name and logo just to participate.
As for Alex? Hagar isn’t holding his breath for a reunion call. “Al’s changed. And that’s fine,” he says. “I’m just out here keeping the music alive.”
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