Photo: TDC Photography / Shutterstock.com
Our Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs list looks back at some of the most spectacular rock and roll guitar riffs ever written by Sammy Hagar. While Sammy Hagar has definitely earned the reputation as being one of the greatest rock and roll singers of all time, it’s probably fair to say that his guitar playing has been widely overlooked over the years. Part of that oversight is because Sammy Hagar has been in many bands where, standing to his right or left, were guitarists often considered the best of the best. It all started with Sammy Hagar’s first band Montrose which was led by famed guitar player Ronnie Montrose.
Ronnie Montrose played all these licks in that band. Sammy Hagar’s next band that he joined, after already having secured himself as a brilliant solo artist would once again feature a guitar player many views as the greatest guitarist of all time in Eddie Van Halen. It’s hard to top that one. Still, years later, Sammy Hagar would hook up with another virtuoso guitar player in Chickenfoot with Joe Satriani. Of course, we should also mention Sammy’s guitar player, Vic Johnson, who doesn’t ever seem to get the credit he deserves.
Being surrounded by all those guitar gods has completely overshadowed Sammy Hagar’s guitar playing. However, many fans of all those bands and Sammy Hagar’s solo career who have seen him in concert could attest to the fact that Sammy Hagar can play a killer guitar. Nonetheless, the point of this article is not to feature the best guitar solos but rather the best guitar riffs. In the end, rock and roll is all about the guitar riff front and center. Just ask Keith Richards or Jimmy Page. No one loves a rock song with a killer riff more than a classic rock fan.
This Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs will feature songs from Sammy Hagar’s solo career. It’s not always easy to tell who might have played the guitar riffs on those Sammy Hagar albums, so what we are doing here is focusing on the songs that Sammy Hagar recorded as a solo artist with the best guitar riffs. Songs like Rock Candy and Bad Motor Scooter were not included on this list because they were released when Sammy Hagar was a member of Montrose. This article just features the SAMMY HAGAR GUITAR RIFFS THAT WERE RELEASED ON HIS SOLO ALBUMS.
# 10 – Urban Guerilla
We open up our Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs list with the rip-roaring song “Urban Guerilla.” The song was released on the album Nine on a Ten Scale, which was released in May 1976. This was Sammy Hagar’s first solo album after leaving Montrose. This one is intense. The entire first minute of the song is all killer guitar playing. It’s filled with a mean riff surrounded by guitar solos that scream classic rock.
# 9 -Psycho Vertigo
There is nothing like a classic rock-sounding guitar riff released as a new song in 2008. Continuing with our Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs list, we listen to the raging song entitled “Psycho Vertigo.” This pick stays true to our argument that the best Sammy Hagar guitar riffs don’t actually have to be played by Sammy Hagar as long as they were released on a Sammy Hagar solo album. The man behind this crying guitar riff was Journey’s Neal Schon. The song “Psycho Vertigo” was written by Sammy Hagar and Neal Schon.
# 8 – I Don’t Need Love
This list is just so much fun to put together. At number eight on our Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs list, we present the outrageous song entitled “I Don’t Need Love.” We just love the spinning feel of the opening riff. The song was released on the album entitled Three Lock Box. The album was released on December 6, 1982. The guitar work on the album was performed by Sammy Hagar and Garry Phil. “I Don’t Need Love,” was the album’s closing track.
# 7 – I Can’t Drive 55
If we left this one off the list, people would go nuts. Sammy Hagars; “I Can’t Drive 55,” is easily Sammy Hagar’s most popular solo song. It’s a killer anthemic track that sounds just as fresh today as it did in the 1980s. The song’s opening guitar riff is more focused on power chords than a riff. It sort of rides between the two. Nonetheless, it powers a great song and that’s what this is really all about. The song “I Can’t Drive 55,” was released on the album VOA. The album was released on July 23, 1984.
# 6 – Plain Jane
Landing in the number six spot on our Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs list we present the song “Plain Jane.” The opening lick is short, it’s simple, but boy is it effective. This is just a really cool one that opens up an early Sammy Hagar Song that defines the man’s ability to write rock songs with a pop sensibility and cool summer-like groove. We all loved this one. The song was released on the album entitled Street Machine. The album was released in September of 1979. The guitar lick at the end has a bit of a Boston sound to it.
# 5 – When The Hammer Falls
At the halfway point on our Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs list is the spirited song entitled “When The Hammer Falls.” With Sammy Hagar on guitar and Eddie Van Halen on bass, rock fans had an album that featured half of Van Halen. This was a great album that featured some killer playing all around. “When The Hammer Falls,” was the opening track on the album. The album was released on June 23, 1987.
# 4 – Reckless
At the number four spot on our Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs list we present the smoking song entitled “Reckless.” The song was released on Sammy Hagar’s third solo album entitled Musical Chairs. The album was released in October of 1977. Once again, this one straddles the line between riff and power chord changes, but it just sounds so good. The guitar and organ rock out together in unison. The guitar solo in the middle of the song is not to be missed.
# 3 – This Planet’s On Fire (Burn In Hell)
Moving along on our Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs list we present the terrific song entitled “This Planet’s On Fire (Burn In Hell).” Riffs like this one were what Sammy Hagar was all about in the 1970s. Listen to how clean this sounds. The song “This Planet’s On Fire (Burn In Hell).” was released on the album entitled Street Machine. The album was released in the fall of 1970.
# 2 – There’s Only One Way To Rock
When Sammy Hagar joined Van Halen, the band often played this electrifying song second during their live shows. With a catalog as deep as Van Halen had, playing Sammy Hagar’s solo song second in the setlist was a tribute to how great this one was. Eddie Van Halen seemed to really enjoy playing this riff. How could he not? It’s one of the best classic rock guitar riffs ever written. The song “There’s Only One Way to Rock” was released on Sammy Hagar’s greatest solo album entitled Standing Hampton. The album was released on January 6, 1982. The guitar work on the album was performed by Sammy Hagar and Gary Pihl.
# 1 – Heavy Metal
We close out our Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs list with the phenomenal song entitled “Heavy Metal.” The song was released on the soundtrack album entitled Heavy Metal. The album was released on August 7, 1981. This was an album that featured some of the greatest rock and roll acts of all time like Blue Öyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Grand Funk Railroad, Cheap Trick, Stevie Nicks, Donald Fagen and more. Yet it was Sammy Hagar who sang and performed the title cut and the album’s opening track. All it takes is one listen to know why. This guitar riff defines the art of classic rock. It’s all there just oh so perfectly. Sammy Hagar has delivered so many classic rock riffs throughout his career, but this one pretty much summed it all up.
Updated ,May 18, 2024
Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024
Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain creative commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Album Cover Photos are affiliate links and the property of Amazon and are stored on the Amazon server. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.
