Rocker Sammy Hagar gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star, gets praise from friends

Rocker Sammy Hagar is making his mark on Hollywood, with a little help from friend John Mayer.

On Tuesday, April 30, the 76-year-old Van Halen icon was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and heard a message from friend Mayer.

“As you can see, I’m a Van Halen fan,” the guitarist said, pointing to his T-shirt while wearing reading glasses. “But I’m an even bigger Sammy Hagar fan.”

Mayer, 46, explained how the two first got together shortly after he joined Grateful Dead offshoot Dead & Company in 2015.

“Sammy’s studio was down the street from Bob Weir’s – he and Bob were already good friends. Sammy came to watch rehearsals. During the break, I sat down at the piano and started playing “Dreams” from 5150 [Van Halen] Album and Sammy sat down next to me and started singing the tune with me – the first time we had met. It was one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. From there we continued as friends.”

The musician talked about how, on taking on his new role dead end company., he felt a connection with Hagar, just as Hagar did when he replaced David Lee Roth in Van Halen in 1985.

Mayer recalled, “Sammy understood my nervousness about joining an already established famous rock band and he was incredibly supportive of me.” “It’s not easy to step into a situation that the audience isn’t quite ready to accept, and Sammy knew this and he put me at great comfort with his immediate friendship, his kindness – and he allowed me to drive my Lotus Esprit alone around the neighborhood. Allowed. Even thought twice about it.”

“Sammy shares his toys,” he said, laughing.

Mayer continued, “Sammy was already a highly successful artist in his own right. When he was asked to be the frontman for Van Halen, he certainly didn’t need to join another band to make a hit record. I think that’s the reason he was put on this offer, the same reason he does anything – because Sammy seems to be driven by having fun, that kind of fun- Fun is something we only dream about letting ourselves have, if we can get out of it in our own way and just enjoy the fact that we’re alive and on this planet in the blink of an eye.”

He continued by quipping on the broadness of Hagar’s lyrics – “Even when he’s a horndog, he’s a monogamist” – following his time in Van Halen, his band, and his Launch of tequila brand. Mayer told the crowd, “In a world that promotes cruel hustle and cold analysis, Sammy Hagar has proven that living your life with generosity, curiosity and kindness pays off in every way.”