Wolfgang Van Halen recently joined the Amoeba Music ‘What’s In My Bag?’ series and shared his opinion on whether Sammy Hagar or David Lee Roth was the best Van Halen singer.
The Mammoth WVH frontman chose Van Halen’s ‘The Collection II’ 5-LP box set, which includes all 4 ‘Van Hagar’ studio albums and an extra disc of rare studio tracks, as one of his favorite albums from the band, and then expressed his opinions on the debate between Hagar and Roth, saying:
“Not to delve into the exhausting argument of which singer is better, I’m kind of ‘of the mind’ where there’s positives in everything. And if you hate one side or the other, it’s like, ‘Hey, the same guy wrote this stuff.’ You can really find stuff to appreciate.”
Praise For Sammy Hagar’s Contribution
He went on to praise the melodic elements Sammy brought to the band’s music, explaining:
And I really appreciate the melodic addition that Sammy added to the band with this music. I think it allowed my dad to explore a more melodic style of songwriting, and there’s great stuff on here.”
Continued Comparisons Post-Van Halen
Even though Van Halen disbanded, the comparisons between DLR and Hagar persist, with additional thoughts from different musicians. In a September chat with May The Rock Be With You, Nuno Bettencourt discussed how he compared the Hagar era with the Roth era, noting:
“I actually put together a musicians list, I went through every Van Halen album, and I apologize for saying this to anybody that’s gonna get offended, but going through the Dave era for me, because Sammy’s a great friend of mine as well, that new era Van Halen is a whole other thing -which by the way I was obsessed with and listened to it- but as a player and as a kid, the Dave era is in my f*cking bloodstream. That’s the difference. I was listening to other stuff where that other sh*t raised me as a kid.”
Previously, Journey guitarist Neal Schon also compared the two and acknowledged the circus showmanship of Diamond Dave, emphasizing that, during their tours together, it wasn’t just about singing but also about the theatrical performance. On the other hand, he appreciated Sammy’s singing abilities, recognizing a different vibe but expressing enjoyment for both eras.
You can watch Wolf’s full interview below.
