Sammy Hagar
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For the last four decades, Sammy Hagar has been one of rock music's most dynamic and prolific artists, amassing 25 Platinum albums on sales surpassing 50 million worldwide. His decades-long career has spanned breaking into the industry with the seminal hard rock band Montrose and his multi-platinum solo career to Hagar’s ride as the frontman of Van Halen, Chickenfoot, and now his latest supergroup, The Circle. Along his journey, he has set the tone for some of the greatest rock anthems ever written, including "I Can't Drive 55," "Right Now" and "Why Can't This Be Love," and has earned himself the highest respect of the music industry with a Grammy Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hagar is also a dedicated philanthropist, two-time New York Times best-selling author, and an auspicious entrepreneur.
Since launching his flagship Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 1990, Hagar has turned a lifelong passion for great food, music and spirits into a thriving lifestyle brand encompassing successful restaurants, bars, spirits and retail. His annual Birthday Bash has become one of the year’s most legendary jam sessions for rockstars to perform at and coveted tickets for music fans to attend. He’s since expanded his Cantina brand to include popular outposts in Las Vegas and Hollywood. In addition to the Cantinas, he successfully launched Sammy’s Beach Bar and Grill restaurants in four airports, donating his proceeds from these locations to local charities.
Hagar’s now-legendary foray into spirits began as a personal quest to find a quality tequila to drink with his friends at the Cantina, leading to the creation of Cabo Wabo Tequila in 1996. By 2007, he and his team had built Cabo Wabo Tequila into the #2 selling premium tequila in the U.S. In 2010, Hagar sold his interests in Cabo Wabo Tequila to Gruppo Campari in a deal that is widely credited as the start of the celebrity-backed spirits trend. After conquering the tequila market, Hagar turned his attention to rum with the creation of Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum in 2012. In its first year, Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum was awarded “Best of Show” by Nightclub & Bar Show and “Double Gold” at both the Los Angeles Spirits Competition and New York Spirits Competition. In 2017, Hagar returned to the world of agave with the launch of Santo Mezquila, the world’s first tequila-mezcal hybrid. In 2019, he joined forces with acclaimed Emmy Award-winning chef and restaurateur Guy Fieri to expand the Santo brand with the launch of Santo Tequila Blanco, a premium old-world style tequila. In 2021, Hagar and Fieri introduced Santo Reposado, a tequila aged in oak barrels for flavor that is artfully balanced and sinfully smooth.
In September 2021, Hagar launched Sammy’s Beach Bar Cocktail Co., marking his entry into the red hot ready-to-drink (RTD) spirits category with a line of top-shelf canned sparkling rum cocktails. He introduced his new product in a way only Hagar could, with a history-making rooftop concert overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. Made with all-natural ingredients and sweetened with agave, the cocktails come in four flavors: tangerine dream, pineapple splash, island pop and cherry kola chill.
Never one to hit the brakes, Hagar expanded his successes into publishing, TV, radio and beyond. His recently released book “Sammy Hagar’s Cocktail Hits: 85 Personal Favorites from the Red Rocker” (Skyhorse Publishing and Culinary Book Creations) brings his party rock anthem, “Mas Tequila!” to life with a collection of recipes paired with some of the Red Rocker’s greatest memories. Released in March 2022, it is his third book following in the footsteps of his New York Times best-seller, ”Are We Having Any Fun Yet?” (Harper Collins), and ”Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock,” his #1 New York Times best-selling memoir. On television, fans have watched him on season 11 of “The Voice,” where he was a mentor for Team Adam, and during five seasons of the hit series, ”Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar.” He’s also the host of ”Sammy Hagar’s Top Rock Countdown,” a weekly syndicated radio show broadcast to 90+ U.S. stations. In spring 2022, Hagar released his first cocktail book, “Sammy Hagar’s Cocktail Hits: 85 Personal Favorites from the Red Rocker,” co-authored with James Beard Award-winning cookbook author, James O. Fraioli.
His debut album with The Circle, “Space Between,” entered the U.S. Billboard 200 chart at #4 on May 10, 2019 and debuted at #1 on four Billboard charts including #1 - Top Album Sales, #1 - Top Rock Albums, #1 - Hard Rock Albums and #1 - Independent Albums. The band toured throughout 2019 in support of the album, earning universal praise from fans and critics alike. The Circle kicked off 2021 with the release of "Lockdown 2020," an album collection of their massively popular Lockdown Sessions featuring raw and raucous compact covers of classic hits that they'd jammed to backstage but never planned to record. Recorded remotely by each band member during the Covid-19 stay-at-homes, the digital music videos include hits like The Who's "Won‘t Get Fooled Again,” Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds," AC/DC’s "Whole Lotta Rosie" and David Bowie's "Heroes” had already reached an online audience of more than 30 million even before the album’s release.
Sammy Hagar & The Circle’s new album, “Crazy Times,” dropped on Friday, Sept. 30, and debuted at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Album chart - his second top 10 in the last four years. Produced by 8-time Grammy Award-winning producer, Dave Cobb, the album includes 10 songs, nine of which Hagar wrote or co-wrote, along with the notable cover, “Pump It Up,” a 1978 song by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. While many of the songs were written post-pandemic, one of the more reflective songs on the record, “Father Time,” was written in 2017 by Hagar when he turned 70 years old.
Sammy and his wife, Kari Hagar, created The Hagar Family Foundation in 2008. The private non-profit focuses on food relief and children's causes. Hagar’s hardscrabble upbringing instilled in him an unstoppable work ethic that’s been the driving force behind his rise to the top as a musician and entrepreneur - and continues to fuel his dedication as a philanthropist. “Being a poor kid is a little humiliating and it instilled in me a desire to be somebody,” Hagar explained. “It's where all my drive comes from. I was willing to work hard to ensure I was never poor again. Even now, I can still go to that place and remember that feeling but now it drives me to want to give back and to show kids that if you work hard, there’s going to be an open door out.” Since 2008 the foundation has given more than $4 million to local communities. Sammy continues to tour the world with his band, The Circle, donating back to local food banks in every city they play. In 2014 he also founded “Acoustic-4-A-Cure,” an annual Bay Area concert featuring acoustic performances by some of the biggest names in music benefitting the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. In recent years, he’s also become an in-demand speaker alongside new friends like Warren Buffett. His #1 priority remains to be a great husband to his wife, Kari, and father to his four children.
Website: http://www.redrocker.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/sammyhag... Facebook: https://facebook.com/sammyhaga... Twitter: https://twitter.com/sammyhagar YouTube: https://youtube.com/sammyhagar
Guests From Episode 4 of Season 10
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