After years of struggle as the downcard rock palooka who could take a punch and never go down, Sammy Hagar answered the bell in the Eighties and came out swinging. In 1982 Hagar scored a technical knockout with his first mainstream hit “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” from his seventh solo album Three Lock Box. By 1987, coming off the hugely successful VOA album with the highway anthem “I Can’t Drive 55”, the newly installed Van Halen lead singer would score his highest charting solo album ever I Never Said Goodbye with the powerful # 1 rock ballad “Give to Live”. Hagar shares with IN THE STUDIO producer and host Redbeard how he managed to satisfy his solo artist commitments while joining the biggest band in the land.
“Everybody remembers the I Never Said Goodbye album that I made with Eddie (Van Halen) playing bass, right after 5150. Royalties off Van Halen records went to Geffen. I sold 5 million records for the guy (David Geffen) on three records. He wasn’t about to let one of his biggest artists just go - not anyone wouldd do that.” - Sammy Hagar
