10 Best Sammy Hagar 80s Songs

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Our 10 best Sammy Hagar songs from the ’80s looks at the part of Sammy Hagar’s catalog that played a major role in him becoming a household name during the big-hair days of the 1980s. I first became a Sammy Hagar fan in the late seventies when I saw him open up for Boston in 1977. I was still in high school at the time, and after the concert I went out and bought his Red album. Although it was actually just called Sammy Hagar, everyone referred to it as the Red Album. Two days later, I bought Nine on a Ten 10 Scale, his solo debut album. And then probably within the next few months, I went out and bought the two Montrose albums that he sang lead on.

Not many kids in my high school knew who Sammy Hagar was in 1977-79. However, the ’80s changed all of that. Sammy released a handful of albums in a row, starting with Standing Hampton, Three Lock Box, and, of course, VOA. They were fueled by big hits playing on the radio and MTV. By the mid-80s, Sammy was a huge rock-and-roll star mostly because of his 80s material. And of course we all know what happened when Van Halen came calling, and he became an even bigger name than he already was.

Many Sammy Hagar fans were unhappy about his joining Van Halen because it meant the end of his solo albums. Nonetheless, the four studio albums he did with Van Halen more than made up for it. In the end, when the Sammy Van Halen era ended, he returned to his solo career and continued to release fabulous rock and roll records. We have published a lot of Sammy Hagar articles on this site. I have never done one on just his 80s material. So here we go…….

# 10 – Love Or Money

I think it makes sense to open up this list with a track from Sammy Hagar’s first album of the ’80s. The album Danger Zone wasn’t a big hit. It wasn’t Sammy’s fault there was a lack of promotion behind it; it’s actually a great rock and roll record. It also featured some powerhouse names in the rock and roll world like Steve Perry and Neil Schon. Both of them appear on this track. The guitar riff on here actually sounds a little bit like ‘Three Lock Box,’ which came out a few years later. As this was the turn of the decade, it still sounds a little bit like Sammy Hagar 70s-style. Neil Schon delivers a scorching guitar solo on this one.

# 9 – When The Hammer Falls

We jump right from Sammy Hagar’s first time of the ’80s to his final lap of the ’80s with the opening track to his Never Said Goodbye album. Most people would probably pick “Give to Live ” or ” Eagles Fly ” from this record, and they wouldn’t be wrong. But I always loved the opening track here. Especially Eddie Van Halen’s bassline.

# 8 – Rock Is In My Blood

This is a powerful statement from Sammy Hagar, telling it like it is. And somehow this song seems even more poignant now 40 years later. The chorus defines that big hair metal sound that became very popular in the 80s. But it’s a bit darker and more genuine when Sammy does it. The guitar breaks are killer. Dont miss this deep, underrated gem of a track.

# 7 – Baby’s On Fire

Four out of the five songs on Side A of Sammy Hagar’s Standing Hampton album appear in the top 7 songs on this list. That’s what you call a spectacular album side. Sammy Hagar could rock with the best of them, but he also had a great sense of melody and groove, and that style shines very brightly throughout the Standing Hampton album, especially on this amazing track.

# 6 – Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy

Sammy Hagar’s Three Lock Box album served as the follow-up to his very successful Standing Hampton record. This song Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy was released as the first single from the album. That was a smart move because it wound up being the biggest hit of his solo career and the only song he ever had as a solo artist to break into the Billboard Top 20. Deservedly so, this is just a great rock and roll tune with an impeccable sense of melody and groove. It’s the perfect blend of rock and roll, hard rock with a pop sensibility that all came together so perfectly.

# 5 – I Fall In Love Again

As I said in the introduction, I had already been a Sammy Hagar fan since the 1970s, but when Standing Hampton came out, I was completely blown away by how Sammy Hagar was just taking his art to the next level. This is the song that really defines his ability to merge pop and rock so wonderfully. I often wonder what Sammy Hagar would have done the rest of the decade if he had not joined Van Halen and where his music would have went.

# 4 – Three Lock Box

It had to be tough to follow up the Standing Hampton album, but Sammy Hagar was on an artistic roll and proved it times 10 when he released Three Lock Box. 1970s rock was all about guitar licks thanks to musicians like Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Brian May and so many more. Sammy Hagar continued that tradition with a stunning guitar riff and groove on the album’s title track.

# 3 – I Can’t Drive 55

Many Sammy Hagar fans might put this one at number one, not just on Sammy Hagar’s 80 songs list but overall Sammy Hagar songs list. You can argue with that. “I Can’t Drive 55” is probably his signature song. It’s just something that everyone always related to. You can’t get more rock and roll attitude than this one. It was released on the fabulous VOA album in 1984; what a year for music that was.

# 2 – Heavy Metal

Sammy Hagar released two versions of this song. One was for the animated film Heavy Metal, and the other was the studio track released on the Standing Hampton album. They’re both fabulous. If you have never seen the Heavy Metal animated film, you need to watch it just to see how well this song works in it.

# 1 – There’s Only One Way To Rock

There’s a reason why, when Sammy Hagar joined Van Halen, the second song of a Van Halen concert with Sammy Hagar was usually this one. It was a lot of fun watching Van Halen play this track. It was Rock and Roll Utopia.

Sammy Hagar’s 80s albums

Danger Zone (1980)

Standing Hampton (1982)

Three Lock Box (1982)

VOA (1984)

I Never Said Goodbye (1987)

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