Sammy Hagar Responds After David Lee Roth Mocks His Eddie Van Halen-Inspired Song on Stage

Roth Pokes Fun at Hagar’s Song

Sammy Hagar has made it clear he isn’t upset by David Lee Roth’s recent comments about his new track.

During a concert in Hampton Beach last week, Roth paused his set to joke about Hagar’s nearly five-minute-long song, Encore, Thank You, Goodnight. Hagar has said the song came to him in a dream, one he claims included the late Eddie Van Halen. Roth teased the story by telling his audience that Eddie had also visited him, but only to admit he had tricked Hagar from beyond the grave with the track.

Hagar Takes It in Stride

Instead of firing back, Hagar showed appreciation for Roth’s remarks. On a fan-run metal page on Instagram, Hagar wrote, “I can’t believe social media is trying to make something out of this. This is the first compliment and reel Olivebranch [sic] moment dave and I have had in 100 years.”

Hagar, who replaced Roth as Van Halen’s frontman in 1985, urged fans to pay close attention to what Roth actually said. “Listen closely and you will see that this is not negative whatsoever,” he explained. He added that he believes Roth may have had a dream about Eddie 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.”

Roth’s Story From the Stage

Roth brought up the subject on August 13 while performing Van Halen’s 1979 hit Dance the Night Away. He recounted Hagar’s claim that Eddie’s ghost visited him and gifted him the new song. “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 memorized and then went home and recorded,” Roth told the crowd.

He then claimed Eddie visited him in a hotel room the night before his show. “I was watching the weather report and he came in and he was laughing. His f—ing ghost was laughing,” Roth said. According to Roth, Eddie told him, “‘You know that song I gave Hagar? It’s actually [Iron Butterfly’s 1968 hit] In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida backwards.’”

A Mix of Humor and Reflection

Roth played it up for the audience, warning them not to share the story with Hagar. “Don’t f—ing tell him. This all stays in this room, right?” he joked. He went on to describe sharing a “ghost cigarette” with Eddie before a more heartfelt exchange. “I hugged my brother Ed and I said, ‘Man, do I f—king miss you,’” Roth recalled. “And he said, ‘I miss you too, Dave.’ He said, ‘But you know what? You should still go to hell.’ And I said, ‘Save me a seat.’”

The Ongoing Drama

Roth’s relationship with Van Halen has always been rocky. Over the years, he left and rejoined the band multiple times. Bassist Alex Van Halen once claimed that a reunion tour fell apart because Roth would not agree to honor Eddie on stage.

Roth has also taken shots at Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie’s son, accusing him of poor behavior during tours. Wolfgang later addressed the remarks, saying, “I seem to have been born into this Van Halen drama that has come way before me. And I guess now that my dad isn’t here to be a target, I guess he went to the next best thing. It’s… I don’t know.”