Sammy Hagar has responded to David Lee Roth’s apparent trolling of him at a recent show by saying he believes the singer’s fairly outlandish 'ghost of Eddie Van Halen' claims.
In fact, he’s read it as an attempt by the Yankee Rose singer to rebuild their broken relationship.
Hagar claimed that his new single, Encore, Thank You Goodnight, was written after the ghost of Eddie Van Halen appeared to him in a dream and showed him a lick. The original statement dates back to 2022, but it wasn’t until he’d tapped up Best of All Worlds bandmate Joe Satriani to complete the song that Eddie’s supernatural shredding saw the light of day, with the song released in April 2025.
In response, Roth told his audience at a recent show in Hampton Beach that he, too, had been visited by Van Halen’s spirit at his hotel room. There, he told Roth that the lick he showed Hagar was actually Iron Butterfly’s In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida backwards.
Many thought Roth’s tongue-in-cheek claims were hilarious, but Hagar doesn’t see the funny side. His take is rather different.
Commenting on an Instagram post by Metal Addicts reporting Roth's claims, Hagar wrote: “I can't believe social media is trying to make something out of this. This is the first compliment and real olive branch moment Dave and I have had in 100 years.”
In Hagar’s mind, Roth is trying to find common ground between the band’s two biggest singers after years of tension and animosity.
“Listen closely and you will see that this is not negative whatsoever,” the Red Rocker continues. “And I believe Dave had the dream as well. Dave's a good storyteller, but there's some truth in between the showmanship. All good with me, keep it up, Dave. These songs we both wrote with Eddie need to be carried on forever.”
Hagar’s response may be unexpected, but it’s dignified. The two singers have been perpetually at war with one another since Roth left Van Halen in 1985 and hired Steve Vai to launch a solo career that, he hoped, would overshadow his former outfit.
They’ve both come and gone from the band in the intervening years, and fans have constantly compared and contrasted them. But since Eddie’s passing in 2020, Hagar has been determined to pay tribute to the virtuoso on stages.
Last year, Alex Van Halen revealed that David Lee Roth’s refusal to pay tribute to Eddie was the reason a reprised Van Halen, featuring Joe Satriani, never got off the ground. Since then, Hagar has put the Best of All Worlds band together in its stead to celebrate Eddie’s legacy by playing songs from both Roth and Hagar eras of the band.
Mind, it probably didn’t help the cause that Hagar recently said Eddie Van Halen was a richer musician because of him, believing he was more fulfilled creatively with him in the band.
