Sammy Hagar has released a new single titled “Encore, Thank You, Goodnight.” that he says was inspired by a dream he had about his late Van Halen bandmate Eddie Van Halen.
The track features Hagar’s all-star band of Joe Satriani on guitar, Michael Anthony on bass, and Kenny Aronoff on drums. The Red Rocker goes so far as to say that Eddie Van Halen presented him the song in the dream.
“This song is my final bow to that part of my life,” stated Hagar. “It’s not meant to be anything more than a thank-you — with love, with respect, and with one hell of a guitar solo.”
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He added, “Joe was the perfect partner to help me shape the sound — he brought in that big, emotional, guitar-driven energy that feels like Eddie’s spirit but is entirely of Joe’s creation. With Michael Anthony’s thundering bass and stellar Van Halen-esque background vocals and Kenny Aronoff’s relentlessly powerful driving rhythms, the song really came together on all levels.”
The track starts with a 30-second guitar instrumental that conjures up memories of Van Halen’s “Eruption,” before turning into a guitar-driven hard rock song that pays homage to EVH, both musically and lyrically. In the chorus, Hagar sings, “Thank you for the music/ Thank you for the song/ Thank you for the visit/ What took so long.”
Both Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani made Consequence‘s recent list of the 100 Best Guitarists of All Time.
Hagar and his aforementioned backing band will play the Stagecoach festival in Indio, California, this Sunday (April 27th), before launching his “Best of All Worlds” Las Vegas residency April 30th at Dolby Live at Park MGM (pick up tickets here).
In recent interviews, the 77-year-old Hagar suggested he doesn’t want to tour anymore, and instead will be playing residencies and one-off shows moving forward.
Check out the lyric video for Hagar’s new single “Encore, Thank You, Goodnight.” below, as well as a clip of Hagar discussing the song with his bandmates.
Content shared from consequence.net.