Sammy Hagar Red book review: 28 Things I learned from reading Red

1. His father was a drunk who would go on drunken binges and not be around for extended periods of time.
2. He got married in 1968 and had his first child in 1970.
3. Sammy says that he dreamed that aliens downloaded the information from his brain and uploaded information to his brain. In interviews, he now says that it really happened.
4. He is fascinated that when you take the number 137, add 7 + 3 and get 10, then add 1 you get 11. Then the 11 is 1 + 1 = 2.
5. Sammy played with various California bands like Skinny, the Fabulous Castillas, Justice Brothers, and Dust Cloud before joining Montrose.
6. Hagar and his wife Betsy got by on welfare and food stamps while getting his music career started. If it were not for the public assistance they received, he probably would not have been able to pursue his dreams. The next time someone argues that they should get rid of welfare, tell them that welfare is indirectly responsible for “Three Lock Box” and see what they come back with.
7. After Hagar was kicked out of Montrose, he received a $5,100 royalty check. He had no job but felt confident in his ability to get back on his feet (and had the welfare system to back him up in the meantime) so he spent $5,000 of it on a Porsche. He would drive the Porsche to the welfare office to pick up his checks.
8. Sammy thinks Sly Stone is a prick
9. He recorded a new album every year from 1976 to 1984: Nine on a Ten Scale, Sammy Hagar, All Night Long, Danger Zone, Street Machine, Musical Chairs, Standing Hampton, Three Lock Box, and VOA. He went on a tour for each one. The first six had decent sales but Standing Hampton was his first platinum solo album.
10. During the early days, Sammy thought receiving oral sex did not violate the vows of marriage.
11. Hagar was offered the classic Bob Seger hit “Night Moves” but couldn’t make it work so he gave it back.
12. He toured with Kiss in 1977 and showed his private parts during a show when he was angry at the audience.
13. Hagar made many business investments: fire sprinklers, bikes, flannel shirts, a cantina, a tequila company, and a bar and grille.
14. Sammy writes a lot that he is off drugs then a couple pages later, he is snorting cocaine or smoking weed.
15. The song “I Can’t Drive fifty-five” was not a huge hit but was a concert favorite and got Sammy out of speeding tickets because the cops loved him and the song.
16. Sammy thinks David Lee Roth looks gay.
17. He thinks that Van Halen only performed eight songs on the 1984 tour when a simple web search for the set list shows that they did plenty more than that.
18. Mick Jones of Foreigner produced Van Halen’s 5150 album and helped Hagar sing an octave above where he normally sang.
19. On the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour, the four members of Van Halen had a tent under the stage. During the show Sammy would have roadies bring girls to his tent. They would wait there naked for Sammy to appear during Eddie Van Halen’s 20 minute guitar solo. He had “brutal sex” with five or six girls during the solo. When the solo was over, so was the sex party. Hagar is such a stallion that he was able to repeat this sexual performance with another five or six after the show. Basically, he was having sex with 10 or 11 girls a night. This was pre-Viagra days, also. Of all the stories, this is the one that is hardest (pun intended) to believe.
20. He gave up having sex with 50+ girls a week when he met his second wife.
21. The Van Halen brothers were not happy with the live album “Right Here, Right Now” that they re-recorded their parts. Sammy then had to re-record all the vocals. It turns out that “Right Here, Right Now” is not much of a live album after all.
22. David Lee Roth not only might be gay but he is also a jerk. Sammy was surprised how tall Roth was but he is hardly a giant at 6’1”.
23. On the last tour with Van Halen, Eddie was a mess. The best quote from the book is: “Al, Mike, and I did it from the heart. We played our asses off every night. Ed went out there and jerked off.”
24. Sammy made a fortune when he sold his tequila company. He is so good with money that he could be a billionaire if he wanted to.
25. Hagar: "I'm not a liar," Hagar writes. "I'd rather tell you the truth and deal with it." Yeah, right Sammy.