Sammy Hagar Wanted to Audition for This Legendary Rock Band, They Couldn’t Afford It

Despite his distinct powerhouse vocals, Sammy Hagar has been somewhat of a rock ‘n’ roll chameleon over the years, serving as the frontman of Montrose, his solo project, and Van Halen. He would’ve been glad to add another rock band to his resumé, but the band was too broke to have him audition.

Videos by American Songwriter

Hagar revealed his dream frontman slot to Classic Rock magazine just minutes after performing in the band’s induction ceremony into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on October 19, 2024.

Sammy Hagar Wanted to Audition For This Rock Band

The music world is certainly a small one, and the rock ‘n’ roll scene of the 1970s and ‘80s was certainly no exception. That’s how Sammy Hagar, former vocalist of Montrose and Van Halen, came to know and befriend the half-British, half-American rock band Foreigner. Montrose and Foreigner began working together in the early 1970s as opening acts for Spooky Tooth.

“We must’ve done a whole year, 150 shows with those guys,” Hagar told Classic Rock. “We just hit it off.” Hagar immortalized his decades-long friendship with Foreigner when he helped induct the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October 2024, performing the band’s 1978 hit “Hot Blooded.” Of course, if Hagar had his way, he wouldn’t have had to wait four decades to perform the track first sung by vocalist Lou Gramm.

After Gramm quit Foreigner (the first time) in 1990, Hagar thought he would be a suitable replacement. He teased Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones about this idea often. “I’m going, ‘I sing a lot like [Lou]. I’m broke off my a**, man!’ [Jones] said, ‘Me, too. You were on the West Coast. I was on the East Coast. I couldn’t afford to fly you out for an audition.’ But that’s the kind of relationship Mick and I have always had,” Hagar said.

The Red Rocker Has Great Respect For Gramm

Lighthearted teasing aside, Sammy Hagar made it clear that he greatly respects the original Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm. The former Van Halen vocalist told Classic Rock magazine that covering “Hot Blooded” for Foreigner’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was “intimidating.”

“He’s one of the great rock singers of all time,” Hagar said. “We were running through it… one of the verses, I was reading it so I didn’t have it in the right time, and he reaches over and points to his foot and starts tapping, like, ‘You’re off-beat, man.’ But it was cool. He was messing with me. We know that.”

Part of the reason why Hagar feels so comfortable poking fun at Foreigner members (and getting some ribbing in return) is because he sees the similarities between himself and his colleagues. “We have similar styles of singing,” Hagar said of Gramm. “We both go for it. When he was young, he was going for those big notes, and I was going for those big notes, and the first thing we’ve talked about is how we both painted ourselves into a corner in our 30s and 40s. Now, we’ve got to deal with it in our 70s! But it’s all good. I love pushing myself.”

Photo by Boston Schulz/Shutterstock