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The musician talked about taking on his new role in ‘Dead & Co.’
Rocker Sammy Hagar, with a little assistance from friend John Mayer, is leaving his mark on Hollywood.
On Tuesday, April 30, the 76-year-old Van Halen icon was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and heard a message from friend Mayer.
“As you can see, I’m a Van Halen fan,” the guitarist said, gesturing to his t-shirt as he put on his reading glasses. “But I’m an even bigger Sammy Hagar fan.”
Mayer, 46, gave a description of how the two first got together, shortly after he joined the Grateful Dead offshoot Dead & Company in 2015.
“Sammy’s studio was down the street from Bob Weir’s — he and Bob were already good friends. Sammy came to visit the rehearsal. During a break, I sat down at the piano and started playing “Dreams” from the 5150 [Van Halen] album and Sammy sat down next to me and started singing the tune along with me — the first time we’d ever met. It was one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. From there we were off and running as friends.”
The musician talked about how, upon taking on his new role in Dead & Co., he felt a connection to Hagar, just as Hagar did when he took David Lee Roth’s place in Van Halen in 1985.
“Sammy understood my nervousness about joining an already established legendary rock band, and he was incredibly supportive of me,” Mayer recalled. “It’s not easy stepping into a position that the audience isn’t quite ready to accept, and Sammy knew that and he gave me great comfort in his instant friendship, his kindness — and by letting me drive his Lotus Esprit around the neighborhood alone without even thinking twice about it.”
“Sammy shares his toys,” he added, laughing.
Mayer continued, “Sammy was already a hugely successful artist in his own right. When he was asked to be the frontman of Van Halen, he certainly didn’t have to join another band to continue making hit records. I think the reason he took them up on the offer was for the same reason he does anything — because it sounded like fun. Sammy is driven by having fun. Sammy has the kind of fun that we only dream about letting ourselves have, if only we could get out of our own way and simply enjoy the fact that we’re alive and on this planet for a relative blink of an eye.”
He continued, quippingly touching on the breadth of Hagar’s lyrics — “Even when he is being a horndog, he’s still monogamous” — his bands following his time in Van Halen, and the launch of his tequila brand. “In a world that promotes ruthless hustling and cold analytics, Sammy Hagar proves that living your life with generosity, curiosity and kindness pays off in every way imaginable,” Mayer told the crowd.
