Why Sammy Hagar’s Skeptical About Releasing Van Halen Vault Material

For his part, former Van Halen singer and current The Circle leader Sammy Hagar seems against issuing unreleased Van Halen recordings from his time in the Eddie Van Halen-led rock band.

At least that's how he came across in an interview the "I Can't Drive 55" singer granted The San Diego Union-Tribune earlier this month (Feb. 6).

Shortly after Eddie Van Halen died in 2020, his son, Wolfgang Van Halen, also addressed the possibility of sharing unheard music featuring his father.

But when the Union-Tribune asked Hagar if there were any unreleased recordings of him with the group that could surface, he replied, "Van Halen didn't have many songs that were completed that didn't come out. Maybe there's some stuff we could add background vocals to, or that I could write new lyrics for."

Hagar continued, "But I'm leery about doing that. Because the legacy of Van Halen is so great, and, prior to me joining the band, the legacy is pure greatness: Eddie's guitar work, the band's playing, the songs."

The musician known as "Red Rocker" also added, "Anything left over wasn't good enough to be on those records. I don't care what anyone says; putting out [unreleased music] wouldn't do anything, other than make someone a little money. But I know Eddie had a ton of jamming stuff he made on cassette tapes because that's how we wrote songs… So, maybe. Who knows what they could put together?"

Two years ago, Wolfgang said it would be "a while" before he went through his father's vault of unreleased recordings, as Ultimate Classic Rock reported. "I can't put a timeline on it," he said then. "Not in the immediate future would we be going through it."

Wolf, after replacing bassist Michael Anthony in 2006, performed alongside his dad in Van Halen until Eddie died and they disbanded. Wolf released his debut album with Mammoth WVH last year.

Mammoth are currently on tour in the U.S. with Dirty Honey. Hagar, an ambassador of Los Cabos, Mexico, will lead The Circle on tour this summer.