David Lee Roth has mocked Sammy Hagar's claim to have been visited by the ghost of Eddie Van Halen.
The former Van Halen frontman made the remarks during a show at the Hampton Casino in Hampton, NH, referencing Hagar's 2022 claim to have been written a song after EVH came to him in a dream.
"I remembered it," Hagar told Ultimate Classic Rock. "I got up in the morning and I wrote the song. It's called Thank You. I used the fuckin’ lick that he showed me in the song."
Thank You finally emerged as Encore, Thank You, Goodnight earlier this year, with Hagar repeating the dream claim, although it appears that his 2022 promise to give Eddie Van Halen a songwriting credit has not materialised, with the song credited to Hagar and guitarist Joe Satriani. And now Roth has mocked Hagar's story.
"One of my esteemed colleagues, he's a contemporary, he's got a great voice, he's got a great catalogue," Hagar told the crowd in Hampton. "You all know Sammy Hagar, right? He's got a great voice. And Sammy, aloud, he described to the media about six weeks ago that the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited him and graced him with a song that he memorised and then went home and recorded. It's on the Internet."
"I don't know what the odds are, but last night the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited me at the fucking hotel room. I was watching the weather report and he came in and he was laughing. His fucking ghost was laughing.
"I said, 'What did you do now?' He said, 'Dave, Dave… Dave, you know that song I gave Hagar?' I said, 'What now?' He said, 'It's actually [Iron Butterfly's 1968 classic] In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida backwards. Don't fucking tell him.'"
David Lee Roth's 2025 tour continues. Full dates below.
David Lee Roth: 2025 Tour
Aug 17: Bethlehem Wind Creek Event Center, PA
Aug 19: Gary Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, IN
Aug 21: Cincinnati Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, OH
Aug 23: Du Quoin Duquoin State Fairgrounds, IL
Aug 25: Chesterfield The Factory, MO
Aug 27: Kansas City Grinders, KC
Aug 29: Thackerville WinStar World Casino and Resort, OK
Aug 31: Catoosa Hard Rock Hotel And Casino Tulsa, OK
Sep 04: Chandler Gila River Hotels & Casino, AZ
Sep 06: Las Vegas Fontainebleau, NV
Sep 08: San Diego Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, CA
Sep 10: Temecula Pechanga Resort & Casino, CA
Sep 12: Saratoga The Mountain Winery, CA
Sep 14: Napa Blue Note Napa, CA
