A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Tuesday honoring hard rock and heavy metal singer, songwriter and guitarist Sammy Hagar for a career where he sold more than 50 million albums.
Singer John Mayer and Tom Consolo, Hager's longtime manager, joined him in speaking at the ceremony adjacent to Amoeba Music on Hollywood Boulevard that was emceed by chef and television host Guy Fieri.
"You have dreams and then you have the dream that you didn't dream," Hagar said at the ceremony. "This is one of those dreams that come true that I didn't dream."
KNX News' Emily Valdez reported that Hagar grew up in Fontana.
"Sometimes when my mom only had the four kids after my dad was gone, we used to go camping for the whole summer because [we'd] save money on a rental house," Hagar said.
Known as the "Red Rocker," Hagar fronted his first band, the Fabulous Castilles, when he was 14 years old.
After graduating from Fontana High School, Hagar moved to nearby Riverside, played in several local bands and ran a store's music department.
While playing in a San Francisco cover band, Hagar was discovered and recruited in 1973 to join the hard rock band Montrose formed by session guitarist Ronnie Montrose. He appeared on the band's first two albums, then fired in 1975 following disputes with Montrose during a European tour.
Hagar then embarked on a solo career, recording eight studio albums between 1976 and 1984. The eighth studio album, "VOA," included on of Hagar's best-known songs, "I Can't Drive 55," which he quickly wrote after getting a ticket for driving 62 mph when the national speed limit was 55 mph.
Hagar was lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Van Halen from 1985-96 when it produced four multi-platinum, No. 1 Billboard charting albums: "5150," "OU812," "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge," and "Balance," along with nine No. 1 mainstream rock hits.
After leaving Van Halen, Hagar released the solo album "Marching to Mars" in 1997, which reached 18th on the Billboard chart, then formed the long- term band, Sammy Hagar & the Waboritas, which released four albums between 1999 and 2006.
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
Hager rejoined Van Halen from 2003-05. He formed the supergroup Chickenfoot in 2008. It released a self-titled debut album in 2009 which reached fourth on the Billboard chart, had a brief tour and released a second album, "Chickenfoot III" in 2011, which reached ninth on the Billboard chart.
Hager formed another supergroup, Sammy Hagar and the Circle in 2014. It first album, "Space Between," released in 2019, reached fourth on the Billboard chart. Its second album, "Crazy Times," released in 2022, reached 95th.
Sammy Hagar and the Circle will begin the 28-stop "The Best of All Worlds" tour July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. It will include a stop at the Forum Aug. 19.
Hagar's honors include induction in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of Van Halen, a best hard rock performance with vocal Grammy in 1991 for "Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" with Van Halen along with nominations in 1984 for best album of original score written for a motion picture or a television special for "Footloose" and in 1995 for best hard rock performance for the track for "The Seventh Seal" from the Van Halen album "Balance."
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok