Sammy Hagar: I would rather see everyone go back to work, I will die [for that]

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Rolling Stone did an interesting article in which they asked several older, established musicians about the effects of COVID-19 on their lives. RS wanted the musicians thoughts about the future of music after concerts and festivals were cancelled. They quoted many musicians, including Chrissie Hyde, Bruce Springsteen, David Crosby, Stevie Nicks and Philip Bailey. Most of their answers were very interesting, except for Sammy Hagar’s. Sammy, formerly of Montrose and Van Halen and currently Chickenfoot, has decided that at the age of 72, he is willing to volunteer as tribute so we can open the doors on the good ol’ USA once again.

I’ll be comfortable playing a show before there’s a vaccine, if it’s declining and seems to be going away. I’m going to make a radical statement here. This is hard to say without stirring somebody up, but truthfully, I’d rather personally get sick and even die, if that’s what it takes. We have to save the world and this country from this economic thing that’s going to kill more people in the long run. I would rather see everyone go back to work. If some of us have to sacrifice on that, OK. I will die for my children and my grandchildren to have a life anywhere close to the life that I had in this wonderful country. That’s just the way that I feel about it. I’m not going to go around spreading the disease. But there may be a time where we have to sacrifice. I mean, how many people die on the Earth every day? I have no idea. I’m sorry to say it, but we all gotta die, man.

[From Rolling Stone via Seriously? OMG! WTF?]

Pardon my candor, but this is one of the stupidest things I’ve heard in a while. It’s not the person willing to die I’m concerned about. What about the homes and neighborhoods all those concert goers will bring their newly infected selves into? What about the mail and delivery people that come to those homes? This virus is not accepting occasional human sacrifices to be appeased, it’s coming for all of us. Plus, those children and grandchildren Sammy is willing to die for won’t be saved they also get infected. There’s better rate of survival for them but no actual guarantee they won’t die. I would challenge Sammy and anyone else willing take-one-for-the-team to actually view a person dying of COVID before they mount that high-horse. It is a painful, debilitating, slow and torturous death. It’s not jumping in front of a bullet, our ‘hero’ will lie in a hospital bed as the virus slowly seeps their life away, one agonizing organ failure at a time. Not to mention, some who survive a serious case are doomed to a life of health issues. As for the fact his comment, “we all gotta die,” that’s true virus or no, but I still stay out of the street if a bus is coming.

The other musicians gave far more reasonable answers. Most of them talk about the financial blow. Tom Peterson (Cheap Trick) and David Crosby mention that they aren’t as flush as everyone thinks and touring is their meal ticket, but they accept they need to put the health of the nation above all else and just wait it out. Buddy Guy (blues guitarist), Bruce Springsteen and Philip Bailey lamented feeling stifled creatively and missed playing live, but, again, that was a secondary concern to them. Interestingly, the women quoted in the article seemed better at rolling with the current quarantine orders, with a few finding positive spins to put on it. Judy Collins said she’s been trying to take a break for years (and then mentioned how well-rested she’s been looking). Chrissie Hynde thinks it’s the perfect opportunity to correct many flaws in the current touring system. But my favorite answer was from John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival), who offered a different way to look at the virus, “I keep telling my family, if it was lions and tigers roaming out there, you could see that, so that prepares you psychologically, so you realize you don’t want to go out there and be reckless.” I mean, maybe don’t tell a two-year old there are hungry tigers in the grocery store, but make the virus a villain and the mask can be Captain America’s shield.

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72 Responses to “Sammy Hagar: I would rather see everyone go back to work, I will die [for that]”

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  1. anniefannie says:

    K, please do…🙄

    • (TheOG) jan90067 says:

      Seriously…he’s on stage…FAR away from the “masses” crowded in the pit and in the seats, most likely massless. And NO concert I’d been to in the last few years (big acts) lets ANYONE *NEAR* the stage; there’s always a “buffer zone” in front. I had front row for Paul McCartney last summer, so I know of what I speak.

      But let Sammy “take one for his team”. One less MAGAt to vote his stupidity. I have NO compassion left for these selfish idiots.

    • Kono Berry says:

      Maybe he has bad chaffing.

  2. Sean says:

    Sammy Hagar also believes aliens once visited him while he slept and downloaded his brain. So, I don’t think it’d be wise to consider him as a source of wisdom.

  3. Betsy says:

    Why is he standing like that? Is that his “thing” to do, stand like a wrestler is going to try and take him out?

    Or, given his moronic answer, perhaps, like Donald Trump, he is experiencing reduced brain functioning from fronto temporal dementia and a weird stance is how he compensates?

    • 3mom says:

      IDK but I’m guessing it’s the standing version of manspreading…?

    • Sojaschnitzel says:

      Men standing like this are compensating for some kind of insecurity. I see this time and again at work, which is a male-only place (IT, I’m pretty much alone there as a female). I don’t know what exactly goes on in their brains but I can tell you that it seems like they do it subconsciously when they are communicating with other males and feel threatened or inferiour or somehow uncomfortable. Mostly happens when they try to impress someone with their perceived intellectual superiority and rock star computer skills.

      Eta a TL;DR: small dick energy

    • Arpeggi says:

      How short is he? Is that a way to give an “excuse” as to why he looks short? But yeah, it’s totally a compensation posture

      • Coji says:

        I’ve stood next to him and he isn’t very tall at all. Maybe 5’7″?

        He was a total jerk to his first wife and apparently also is a moron.

  4. Aang says:

    I can’t with the bizarre fetishization of work we get from the right. They pretend it’s about the dignity of making your own living but it’s really about having your labour exploited to make the rich richer.

    • Rapunzel says:

      Word… the fetishization of work is a great way to put it. It’s like people are being considered valuable only if they contribute to the economy. I see that attitude leading to even darker happenings than this at some point.

    • minx says:

      The rich need our labor and they were unhappy when everything ground to a halt.

  5. local russian hill says:

    it’s actually a similar sentiment to what many older people i’ve spoken to have expressed. their point is that they’ve lived full lives and they believe that those in their prime should have the same opportunity. the way hagar explained it sounds irresponsible, however he has a point in that the economic toll which is in turn affecting mental health will kill a lot more people if we don’t find ways to safely reopen society while protecting the most vulnerable.

    • Betsy says:

      Perhaps the GOP should have taken this seriously from the get go and we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now. We could have gone on a serious lockdown early on, done aggressive testing and contact tracing, provided sufficient PPE, told people to mask up early and encouraged social distancing, maybe the GOP shouldn’t have underfunded and politicized every relevant department and gotten rid of the department in China that would have reported this earlier than we found out…

      The fundamental issue isn’t that people can’t work, it’s that the pandemic exposed the weaknesses in the economy and in our economic model, and furthermore the GOP hasn’t taken steps to make working safer nor have they taken steps to give money to the people who need it. So I guess they can fck their going back to work thing because they don’t care about workers, mental health, physical health, old people, young people…

      • Whynot says:

        Well said. The US has no social safety net like Canada or most Western European countries. The GOP mocks any assistance the Democrats try to provide as “socialism”, as if it’s a dirty word. Ooh, how horrible to try to take care of the poor or sick in your country. It sounds so wonderful to come out of a hospital owing hundreds of thousands of dollars if you can’t afford health insurance.

        Obama tried to provide more access to health care that isn’t dependent on your salary and we all see how well that went over with the GOP and their followers. A few years ago, an idiot neighbor here in Canada who watches Fox News was ranting about how Obama was trying to scam everyone with Obamacare and that he was a liar because he said premiums wouldn’t go up but they did. Like this neighbor gives two craps about health care in the US. It’s only about money for these people and nothing else matters.

        Yes, we pay more taxes here in Canada and no not everything is perfect but I’d rather pay more to know those less fortunate are somewhat taken care of. The GOP would rather destroy a nation than pay a dime more in taxes to help others. Yes, the economy is important for everyone but there has to be a balance, especially during a worldwide health crisis.

    • Lynne says:

      Wearing a mask would help tremendously but it seems that the Same people who want the economy to fully open, are the ones who push back on wearing them the most.

  6. Teresa says:

    I’m so glad to know the wealthy man with no need to ever work again for many lifetimes is so desperate for people to get back to work he’s willing to let them die for it. I’m sure if he got sick he’d have private doctors and his own shiny new in home ventilator. What a piece of shit human. The economy is not worth dying over and mildly inconveniencing your life and being unable to attend concerts or sports games for a year is what most Middle class people have been doing their entire lives. This guy can kindly f off into oblivion.

    • Rapunzel says:

      Most of these “we gotta be willing to die for the economy” types really don’t care about the economy at all. We know this because many of them are willing to boycott places asking for masks and social distancing. They are the first to complain about any changes made to businesses in order to reopen. They’re just selfish twats who want to do whatever they want. It’s all about their inconvenience. When asked to compromise, they couldn’t care less about the economy.

  7. La says:

    I love John Fogerty’s response! I saw him live last year at a music festival and it was a bucket list performance I didn’t realize I wanted. He was fantastic. I miss live music soooo much but not enough to want to be around that many people until we have a vaccine.

    • Lightpurple says:

      I love Fogerty . I absolutely love him. His concerts are wonderful experiences, so much fun.

  8. Nev says:

    dummy.

  9. Rapunzel says:

    ” I would rather see everyone go back to work, I will kill [for that]”

    Fixed it for you Sammy.

    This isn’t about what you want. It’s about what you’re forcing on others… a deadly illness.

    • khaveman says:

      He’s an ignorant, selfish douche, another older white guy who wants to control others. I’m so over this type of toxic talk.

  10. SomeChick says:

    As if runining Van Halen wasn’t enough! STAHP.

    I’m surprised the current regime doesn’t use his music for their plague ridden rallies.

  11. AppleTartin says:

    It’s easy to think about this in the abstract when it doesn’t affect you. Since you are safe behind your shiny walls. And everything is brought to you for them to take all the risk.

    All he wants is his fun rockstar job back. He doesn’t give a F about people.

    And if people would just stop politicizing masks and just wear them. Maybe we can end this shit show sooner rather than later.

    • El says:

      Exactly, I haven’t seen a single person who’s life is ACTUALLY on the line say that, it’s always privileged people mouthing off.
      Besides, I’m tired of this stupid false dichotomy: work and risk dying or stay home and get ruined. How about “stay home and we’ll bail you out”? How about we acknowledge the need to plan for this? We’ve run up huge deficits for the Wall street, why not for the little guy? And then when this is over, Sammy can sacrifice by giving free concerts and donating the proceeds to the debt relief fund. There are options. And if there aren’t, we need to talk about it, not shrug “oh well, I guess we’ll die then”.

  12. Lightpurple says:

    He wrote a song years ago about being unable to comply with speed limits on the highway. He’s a reckless idiot. Hopefully, the people who regularly attend his shows have better sense than he does. Also, most places aren’t allowing concert venues to open as singing propels a lot of sputum.

  13. Mrs. Peel says:

    “I’m not going to go around spreading the disease” – um, that’s exactly what you would be doing, you manspreadingstanding neanderthal.

  14. Deanne says:

    First off, who is going to see Sammy Hagar in 2020? Second, WTF is he standing like that for? He looks as idiotic as he sounds.

    • RedWeatherTiger says:

      This. People still pay actual money to see Sammy Hagar? He’s sucked since the 80s. Now he’s almost IN his 80s.

    • JaneEyreApparent says:

      Maaaaybe if he was doing the casino or state fair circuit

  15. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    And here again is another tool that’s completely misunderstanding this illness. He’s willing to die to put on a concert. In his micro brain, he’s being brave. For him, his music and the industry. He’s like all the other tools who won’t wear masks because, “They don’t care if they get sick.” They think they’re leaders and sacrificing themselves for their ‘mission.’

  16. Lucy2 says:

    That is beyond stupid.

    I really do feel for everyone whose livelihood is live performing- The performers themselves, and all of the crews, venues, etc. who make it all happen. I don’t see any of that resuming until there’s a vaccine.
    I do see professional sports resuming without an audience, for tv broadcast, so maybe some festivals could do something similar? But I guess that still requires travel which isn’t really safe. i’ve been watching a lot of online concerts and try to kick in money when I do, but I know it’s not the same as them filling a theater night after night.

  17. Nikki says:

    Sammys just salty because even his kids like Van Halen with David Lee Roth more.
    I guess now we know an artist who would be ok with Lord Dampnut using their music at his rallies.

  18. Ariel says:

    Fine, he can die.
    Can i have my mom back? She died May 6 of the virus. And i wish she wasn’t dead.

  19. Swack says:

    But would his children and grandchildren want him to die “for the cause”? My children and grandchildren would be devastated if I said something like that. Maybe they would want him to die and get their inheritance. 🤷‍♀️

    • lucy2 says:

      And is he willing to possibly take his children and grandchildren with him, or have them suffer serious, lingering health problems for who knows how long? This virus doesn’t haven’t an age limit. A lot of the new hospitalizations are younger people.

  20. Christin says:

    Let me guess that he not only wants the financial gain, but the ego-stroking of having an audience cheering.

    A crowded concert with singing and cheering is a perfect way for the virus to thrive. I just read a story about a Texas family who had a surprise birthday party in late May. The virus was the surprise gift, as 18 family members are now infected (three are hospitalized). One person unknowingly had the virus and spread it to others, who infected additional family. Even an attendee sitting outside got it and was hospitalized.

    I’m floored every day by how nonchalant some people treat this deadly scourge. It’s like an sniper you cannot see, but you know there have been victims around you. Why not behave accordingly?

  21. fluffy_bunny says:

    Does Sammy know he can hold virtual concerts? My favorite band, Dave Matthews Band, cancelled this years tour and announced that they’ve extended next year’s tour to compensate for it. (Not the money part but the fan access part) Every week they stream a different concert from recent tours. We were taking a year off from going to concerts before the pandemic happened and the tour was cancelled so I wasn’t impacted but I appreciate them streaming weekly to keep fans happy.

    • GuestWho says:

      My son and daughter in law are going to a drive in concert this weekend. 300 drive in theaters and Garth Brooks performing from Nashville (which is another conversation altogether). I don’t imagine the sound will be great, but it seems like relatively safe entertainment.

    • La says:

      I’m a huge DMB fan too and am loving the Wednesday concerts. The first one they streamed was the show we were in the pit for last year! It was fun to relive that memory 🙂

      We typically go to Dave and several other concerts a year so this is killing me. We had tickets for two big stadium shows that have been rescheduled for next year and even a year out I’m still really wondering if we’ll have the virus under control by then.

  22. molly says:

    JFC. That was so painfully stupid. If we want life (concerts, sports, school) back and to save this “economic thing”, everyone needs to wear a mask and socially distance. Ask all the other countries who get to have some of their nice things back. That’s the solution. Not throwing one stupid, old person per month into a volcano as sacrifice.

  23. Izzy says:

    You first, ahole. Oh, but you’ll be up on stage away from the crowd, it’s OTHERS who will die so YOU can stay rich.

  24. Traveler says:

    Fine, Sammy, you die then………see ya.
    But the problem with your asinine logic is that your actions and beliefs will force the same on many others not willing to volunteer. No way am I on board with the “I’ve lead a full life, take me” people. Trade your life for another’s…………..great, wish you could……. but you don’t get to jeopardize my life to do it. What a stupid, selfish position.

  25. Marigold says:

    What a total and complete dumb azz

  26. Rmcgrudiva says:

    “ As for the fact his comment, “we all gotta die,” that’s true virus or no, but I still stay out of the street if a bus is coming.”

    This very true comment tickled the crap out of me!

  27. Valerie says:

    Go for it, man.

  28. Veronica S. says:

    Christ, the idea of freedom some people have in this country is so myopic. You are free to get sick and die on a ventilator if you want. What’s being challenged is the notion is that your freedom is important enough to make *other* people sick and die. Other people’s freedom to exist matters, too. Welcome to the compromise of living in a society! If you don’t like it, move to a ranch in the middle of nowhere.

  29. Becks1 says:

    Stevie’s response is so….Stevie, lol. It sounds a little out of touch, but I guess she is speaking specifically to the idea of not touring right now. And planning her movie??? Yes please, get it out there before daisy jones ruins it!

    (fun fact: years ago Lindsay Lohan gave an interview and mentioned wanting to play Stevie nicks in the FM biopic and Stevie’s quoted response was “over my dead body.”)

    Anyway – most of the responses are pretty decent and what I would expect. Sammy’s isn’t decent but I guess its what I would expect. I think its dangerous though bc we have seen over the past few weeks that people will only do what they are required to do (or required not to do) – you’re opening restaurants? People will eat there, even if you tell them “its safer at home.” You play a concert and say “please practice social distancing?” no one is going to do that.

  30. holly hobby says:

    WTF Hagar? I’m glad Van Halen kicked him out. I don’t think Valerie Bertinelli likes him based on some comments she’s made in her book.

  31. Barbiem says:

    So a 72yr old that lived the sweet life, rock n roll, groupies, seen and did things most wont ever is okay with dying. Makes sense…but some people would like to at least get drivers license first, have sex, I dont know…live a little bit longer before they die. If possible, but hes okay with them dying too. Stupid privilege crap to say. He should have stuck with “I’m cool dying by myself!”. Screw you.

  32. Mary says:

    And he can do that, he does not however, get to make that decision for me and my family and I bet he doesnt get to make that decision for you.

  33. SJR says:

    I have always been a David Led Roth Van Halen fan over a Sammy Hagar Van Hagar fan.
    So much so that I did used to ask Van Halen or Van Hagar? when dudes asked me out.
    (Yeah, I was that fan girl)

    So, as usual when it comes to Sammy…Only open your mouth to sing, do not talk ya DLR wannabe.
    Btw, he is manspreading like that when he stands in an effort to project Taller/Bigger, DLR = 6′, Sammy = Not, he’s a shorter dude.
    Sammy does have a decent voice BUT if you are looking for charm, showmanship, original ideas for videos, or just over the top fun guy in your mid ’80’s rock star..DLR!

    Btw, You notice that Dave does not talk this idiot crap. Dave is also sometimes an idiot but he isn’t talking this bs.
    Sammy has made more cash from his brand of tequila than he earned in music.
    He is in no way gonna put his life at risk to get others back to work. He is talking crap to get attention.

    Sick of these multi-millionaires yakking about helping others, you want to help other people? Pull out your checkbook! Donate $500K to every cause you want to help! And deduct it off your damn taxes. Put up or shut up.

  34. And this is why all Van Halen fans call him “the brown note”. He’s such a turd

  35. Dónal says:

    had to google who he was,sure let him go back to “work” peddlin his karaoke songs to the last interested person,maybe catch covid and maybe learn a lesson,i doubt his album sales would increase if he passed,not that i would wish such things