Live 1980 is a Sammy Hagar live album recorded during the tour promoting his then-newest album, Danger Zone. The album mainly contains tracks from Danger Zone and its predecessor, Street Machine. It was released by Capitol Records after the success of Hagar's Geffen-era releases, Standing Hampton and Three Lock Box…
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, musician, and entrepreneur. Hagar came to prominence in the 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose. He then launched a successful solo career, scoring an enduring hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". He enjoyed commercial success when he replaced David Lee Roth as the lead singer of Van Halen in 1985, but left in 1996…
Sammy Hagar's recording legacy from the early days of Montrose through his solo career through the Van Halen years have collectively sold in the tens of millions worldwide. The respect of his peers illustrates his ability to draw artists of the highest caliber to collaborate with him, many of whom are featured on this album. This is a career-defining record for Sammy, where he masterfully assembled a diverse selection of songs that delve into rock, country, blues and pop. Featured Guest Appearances: Kid Rock, Neal Schon (Santana, Journey, HSAS), Joe Satriani, Chad Smith, Michael Anthony (ex-Van Halen, Chickenfoot)), Taj Mahal, Ronnie Dunn (Brooks & Dunn), Toby Keith, Nancy Wilson (Heart), Bill Church & Denny Carmassi (Montrose), The Wabos and more on a epic collection of 10 songs!
Although probably best known for his affiliation with Van Halen from the mid-'80s through the mid-'90s, Sammy Hagar was of course a solo artist beforehand, churning out quite a few so-so releases for Capitol, before jumping ship to Geffen and scoring the biggest hits of his career. As a result, the Sammy Hagar edition of Capitol's ongoing Classic Masters series is a bit of a misleading title, as there's no "I Can't Drive 55" or "Three Lock Box" anywhere to be found here. What you do get is a thorough overview of Hagar's solo career from early on, including such Hagar trademark hard rockers as "Red," "Trans Am," and "Bad Reputation," plus a few laid-back tracks – a bluesy cover of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and "You Make Me Crazy."