The debate about who was the better Van Halen frontman, David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar, has lasted for decades by this point. But a little-known fact was that supposedly, producer Ted Templeman toyed with the idea of replacing Roth with Hagar prior to VH’s classic self-titled debut from 1978. Which obviously didn’t take place at the time, but the switcheroo did indeed take place in 1985.
During an interview on the Booked on Rock Podcast, Martin Popoff, the author of the book “Van Halen at 50,” was asked about what it would have been like if Hagar replaced Roth in ’78. And he was more than willing to explore the subject (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar).
“Sammy was a good looking guy, his hair was cool. He dressed a bit goofy, but they all did. Maybe he’d not be dressing so cool, maybe he’d be like one of the nerdiest looking guys in the band. But if they all got a hold of him and a hold of Mikey [Anthony], Mikey didn’t dress very cool in the early days.”
“But who knows? Great voice. I’m not crazy about his stage mannerisms back then. But we know Dave’s an incredible showman. He looked amazing, he sang great, he was just a firecracker up there. Explosive frontman. And I remember, as a kid growing up, thinking he was just the coolest guy ever. And I don’t think I ever really thought that about Sammy Hagar.”
That said, Popoff admitted to appreciating Hagar’s music from that era and also gave his answer to the original question.
“I mean, already in 1978, ’79, ’80, I knew all of those Sammy Hagar albums. And to me, he was a little bit of like a heavier version of a Bryan Adams or a proto-Night Ranger. Kind of in that poppy hard rock, heartland, Rust Belt rock range. Midwest rock sort of sound, right? So, we never thought he was super cool. Although ‘Street Machine,’ we quite liked that album coming up.”
“But who knows what would have happened? If I really had to think about it and give a correct answer, I would say they probably still would have been just fine because Sammy brings other things to the table.”
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