Hagar emotional over his Hollywood star
Some celebrities view receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as a promotional obligation. For Sammy Hagar, it marked the realization of a lifelong fantasy.
The Bay Area rocker shared with his fans that he and his mother had been fascinated with the Walk of Fame in the 1960s, as he accepted the honor during a ceremony on Tuesday, April 30, becoming the 2,779th star recipient.
“We didn’t have anything, maybe enough gas money to make it to the beach,” recalled an emotional Hagar, who was born in Salinas and raised in Fontana (San Bernardino County) before settling in Marin. “Four kids raised by a single mom and she would want to come down here and see the movie stars. She was really in love with the movie industry and Clark Gable and those guys.”
Accompanied by his wife, Kari, and his five adult children, the 76-year-old musician knelt and kissed his star several times as it was unveiled on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Argyle Avenue.
“I remember seeing this thing and to think, it was way beyond a dream,” Hagar added. “You have dreams, and then you have the dream that you didn’t dream. This is one of those dreams that I didn’t dream and — wow.”
The former Van Halen frontman, already a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy winner, was joined by several famous friends to celebrate. His business partner Guy Fieri hosted the event, with singersongwriter John Mayer and Hagar’s longtime manager Tom Consolo delivering speeches. Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony
were also in attendance.
“Sammy, your work ethic is unlike, honestly, anything I’ve ever seen,” Consolo said. “When we first started out together, you called me early in the day and you said, ‘Are your sleeves rolled up?’ Since that day, they’ve never come down. You are the idea guy, you’ve always got one. We may kick something around on the phone, but by the time we’ve hung up, you’ve got it 100% formed and it’s ready for execution.”
Hagar, known as the Red Rocker, has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide as a solo artist and member of various groups. From his debut with the hard rock band Montrose in 1973 to briefly replacing David Lee Roth as the lead singer for Van Halen, and more recently fronting Chickenfoot and the Circle, Hagar has rarely slowed down.
He also hosts the annual Acoustic-4-A-Cure pediatric cancer benefit concert in San Francisco and owns several bars and restaurants, including Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San
Lucas. His spirits lines include Cabo Wabo Tequila, Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum, Santo Spirits, Sammy’s Beach Bar Cocktails and Red Rocker Brewing Co.
“He celebrates being alive,” said Mayer, decked in a Van Halen T-shirt. “Every time I think of him, a thought comes to mind that I’d like to share with you today: Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, Sammy Hagar is having way more fun than you.
“Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, my friend. I love you.”
Later this month, Hagar is scheduled to debut Sammy’s Island at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. On June 15, a performance venue renamed Stage Red in honor of Hagar is scheduled to open in Fontana.
Meanwhile, his Best of All Worlds summer 2024 tour with former Chickenfoot bandmates Anthony and guitarist Joe Satriani, along with drummer Jason Bonham, is set to kick off in July in Florida.