Unlike many people, Sammy Hagar believes David Lee Roth was telling the truth about being visited by Eddie Van Halen’s ghost.
In fact, the Red Rocker sees the story as an olive branch moment between the long-quibbling former Van Halen singers.
Roth made headlines last week by telling fans at a concert in Hampton Beach that the late guitar legend’s ghost visited him, mirroring the origin story of Hagar’s 2025 song “Encore, Thank You, Goodnight.’
“I don’t know what the odds are, but last night the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited me at the fucking hotel room,” Roth declared. “I was watching the weather report and he came in and he was laughing. His fucking ghost was laughing.
“I said, ‘What did you do now?’ He said, ‘Dave, Dave…Dave, you know that song I gave Hagar?’ I said, ‘What now?’ He said, ‘It’s actually [Iron Butterfly’s 1968 hit] ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’ backwards. Don’t fucking tell him.’
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In August of 2022, Hagar told UCR that Van Halen visited him in a dream and helped him write a new song: “I remembered it. I got up in the morning and I wrote the song. I used the fuckin’ lick that he showed me in the song.”
Although many thought Roth was poking fun at his longtime rival with this tale, Hagar sees it differently. “I can’t believe social media is trying to make something out of this,” he wrote in response to an Instagram post about Roth’s comments.
He also seems to have noticed that Roth referred to him as an “esteemed colleague” with a great voice and a great catalog. “This is the first real compliment and first real olive branch moment Dave and I have had in 100 years,” Hagar continued. “Listen closely and you will see that this is not negative whatsoever. And I believe Dave had the dream as well. Dave’s a good storyteller, but there’s some truth in between the showmanship.”
Summing up, Hagar wished Roth well on his current solo tour, which finds him augmenting his normal four-piece backing band with a four-man vocal section. “Keep it up Dave, these songs we both wrote with Eddie need to be carried on forever.”
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Gallery Credit: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff
