Sammy Hagar hopes to reconcile with Alex Van Halen: "I won't let this bitterness haunt me forever"

Sammy Hagar expressed his desire to reconcile with Alex Van Halen, despite their longstanding estrangement.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the 77-year-old musician expressed his hope that he and Alex, 71, could reconcile before passing away.

Hagar stated that she would not allow the item to be taken to her grave and did not want it to be taken to Van Halen manager Irving Azoff's grave. She had previously extended an olive branch to him, and had done so again.

In 1985, Hagar replaced David Lee Roth as Van Halen's new frontman, joining Alex, Eddie Van Halen's brother and guitarist, Alex's brother and drummer, and bassist/vocalist Michael Anthony.

In 1995, Van Halen's stint with Hagar ended in a split, and the Cabo Wabo founder briefly reunited with the band in 2004 before leaving again after their successful summer tour.

Despite Hagar's second departure, Eddie and Alex remained estranged for a long time. However, they reconciled before Van Halen founder Eddie died of lung cancer in October 2020.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Hagar stated that he didn't believe he and Alex would collaborate on music again.

"I want to be friends again, though," he said. "I don’t want to play in a band with Al. I’m not asking for that. I can see that he’s not capable of doing that. If he was, I’d be happy to play with him, but it’s not what I’m looking for."

In a July interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Hagar disclosed that Alex was unresponsive when he and Anthony tried to contact him multiple times prior to their "Best of All Worlds" tour.

Van Halen's tour, which included many of their hits, ended in August but will return for a nine-show residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM in spring 2025.

Hagar revealed that they tried to contact the person a dozen times before the tour, through various means such as email, text message, phone call, and machine message, but received no response.

"He stated, "We made every offer to meet up or simply chat, whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. We could go to the studio and play, or I could come to your house. We could go horseback riding or sit on the beach. What do you want to do? Let's just do something. Let's get together. And nothing.""

In October, Billboard reported that Alex stated he was "uninterested" in participating in the tour.

""It's not my concern what they do with the band," he stated."

Hagar discussed his reaction to Alex's new memoir "Brothers" with Rolling Stone, where Alex fails to mention Hagar by name except for stating "We had a lot of other singers over the years."

"Dave, Ed, Mike, and I were the heart, soul, creativity, and magic, as I told Rolling Stone in an October interview," he said.

In "Brothers," Alex omitted the Van Hagar era and ended the band's story in 1984, before Roth left.

Hagar told Rolling Stone that he thought the snub was "sad."

The Red Rocker stated that although they haven't read the entire book, they have viewed all the excerpts and listened to some interviews.

He continued, "It breaks my heart because if I think about what Alex is going through, losing his brother, never playing with anyone else in his life, and then his health, I realized that no wonder he's not answering my call when I say, 'Do you want to go out and play with us?' He can't."

In a 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, Alex revealed that he had limited mobility due to a spinal injury.

"Hagar expressed her concern for Alex's health challenges, stating that she could only imagine how devastating it would be for her to lose the ability to sing and perform. She felt that it would be unfair to her fans and that she would feel like she was robbing them of the experience of her music. When considering Alex's situation, Hagar sympathized with him and felt sorry for him."

He continued, "I would like to hear him explain why he left me out because I don't completely understand it. I know that he's bitter about certain things, but it's like, 'If you don't want that era, then that gives me more justification to say I own it because no one else can do it and he can't do it even without me.'"

Hagar added, 'It makes it easier for Mike and me. We’re sitting there going, “Okay, I guess we own this,” and we have the obligation to bring this to the fans to keep this music alive, keep it live and alive.'

Alex's memoir received praise from Hagar, who wondered if the drummer had plans for a sequel.

"Hagar praised the author's book, stating that the way he wrote it was soulful and moving, particularly about their childhood. She described it as a love letter to his brother and found it touching."

"I want to express my appreciation for his efforts. I realize he couldn't have covered the entire era in a single book. It would have been like writing the Bible and the dictionary combined, so perhaps he has plans for a Volume 2. Who knows?"