A year after David Lee Roth parted ways with Van Halen, the band released its seventh album, 5150, with then-new singer Sammy Hagar. Smack in the middle of the golden age of MTV and music videos, Van Halen refused to release any videos for the singles and wanted the music and their new vocalist to speak for itself from the first single post-Roth, “Why Can’t This Be Love.”
Upon its release, some fans were already on the Hagar bandwagon, while others were on the fence or still Roth devotees. Hagar v. Roth debates ensued. Nevertheless, something clicked. It was a new age, and sound, for Van Halen, and 5150 went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Hagar’s first single with the band was also a hit, and “Why Can’t This Be Love” peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100.
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‘That Funny Feeling Again’
Within the song, the lyrics run around pleas of an unrequited love. The love feels unreal—blows ’em all away—yet it isn’t being reciprocated on the other end.
Whoa, here it comes
That funny feeling again
Winding me up inside
Every time we touch
Hey, I don’t know
Oh, tell me where to begin
‘Cause I never, ever, felt so much
Hey!
And I can’t recall
Any love at all
Oh, baby, this blows ’em all away
It’s got what it takes
So, tell me why can’t this be love?
Straight from my heart
Oh, tell me why can’t this be love?
New Sound
Sonically, 5150 was a detour from the band, and the direction they would continue on centered around a more keyboard-driven sound. When performing “Why Can’t This Be Love” on tour, Eddie Van Halen played the keyboard parts while Hagar sang and played the guitar parts and solo.
“The old people that were in doubt, they heard (imitates keyboard riff notes) ‘Why Can’t This Be Love’ and they just went, ‘Whoa, this is a new sound for Van Halen,'” said Hagar in 2023. “You know that keyboard riff sounded like a guitar riff. [Whereas] previous stuff like ‘Jump’ sounded like a synthesizer. So some of the hardcore guitar people rebelled a little bit, but they got a whole new audience with that. And we just satisfied them, and they stayed. And we just went out, and every show sold out in minutes, and we went out and just killed it.”
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The Best of Both Worlds
Even though Hagar left Van Halen in 1996, and was replaced by Extreme‘s Gary Cherone, the band’s music, and that first single, always stuck with him. Hagar rejoined the band briefly in 2004 through 2005 for the Best of Both Worlds Tour, and in 2007 he joined original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony for a performance of”Why Can’t This Be Love” during the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Hagar has continued to perform “Why Can’t This Be Love” throughout the years. On September 29, 2023, he even joined The Killers during the band’s Ohana Festival set at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California for a performance of “Why Can’t This Be Love.”
“Is it too late to blow your minds again?” asked The Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers. “It might keep you up. Sammy Hagar is gonna come out and do a little thing.
As The Killers went into “Why Can’t This Be Love,” Hagar walked on stage singing.
Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images
