Sammy Hagar
The Red Rocker really has a great story to tell. It isn’t your typical autobiography. He pulls you in right away. His story telling style will keep you turning the pages. You would be surprised to learn about his work ethic and always trying to make it, never quit attitude. Sammy also was quite the business man as well, actually creating a biking business and other investments. But when you get to his real start in rock and roll, when he became the lead singer for Montrose and how he wrote Rock Candy one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded on the spot is truly amazing. Interesting enough Ted Templeman who managed and produced Montrose would eventually produce Van Halen and they worked together again. But reading the stories about his time in Montrose and being on the road and his solo tours and albums were more successful than I thought also helps with his story.
Sammy really takes a candid approach throughout the book and you learn about his love of family and how he took care of his first wife. Don’t get me wrong he is far from perfect, infidelities (his second wife started seeing him even though he was married to wife number 1), drugs, drinking etc. He does all the rock and roll lifestyle like you would expect but dealt with it in his mind as morally as he could. He stood by his word and that is part of the charm in his personality. Sammy is a rare find in that he is a good guy and helps people and tries to do the right thing and you believe it!
I’m sure everyone wants to know about Van Halen and seriously he helped them out a great deal, obviously Eddie is a great player and definite legend, but when you see the other side and especially Alex Van Halen, you begin to wonder how they made it all or how bad their drinking was/is. The way the brothers treated Michael Anthony even Sammy on occasion. People tend to forget what Sammy brought to the table to them. He got them a better manager and the band made more money, they had his song writing (and he had a few hits on his own, I Can’t Drive 55 as an example) and leadership abilities. On a side note his reign in the band wasn’t only more lucrative for them versus David Lee Roth, but they had number one albums and songs. All I am saying is they both benefited from the partnership. I won’t go into the details of the book, that’s for you to read, I don’t want to be the spoiler.
He also tells you how he got into Chickenfoot and I for one am glad that he helped put this band together and what a great debut album it was. If you a great rock story that is honest and tells it like it is than this is for you. You may even learn somethings like i did and even appreciate his alien story. I look forward to your thoughts on the book. This one gets 5 guitar picks.
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