If you're looking for great rock star reads, you've come to the right place!

After losing Eddie Van Halen on October 6, 2020...

I found myself fully immersed in his life, his loves, his bandmates and stories of him.
It wasn't enough to just read articles on Google or cruise through Facebook and Instagram, so I started diving into the ocean of books about him and others around him.
One book that I thoroughly enjoyed, and I'll get into others later, is Red by Sammy Hagar, one of Eddie's bandmates, during the 'Van Hagar' era.
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It's a fantastic story, told in Sammy's voice, that I found very enthralling. It is an addictive book in the way that it's told.  Here is my review of Red:

First off, I’ll admit that I could not put this book down, and not just because of the content. The reader can feel Sammy’s personality throughout the pages. After watching so many videos and reading so many articles, even listening to radio broadcast recordings, I have to say that I like him a lot. He’s got a great positive attitude and a hilarious sense of humor, plus a fantastically witty imagination. He’s the type of guy that I think anyone would be able to hang out with and have fun.

Sammy is also extremely charismatic and loaded with wisdom. He’s had quite a life to support that, and this book tells a lot of it. The man has worked practically since he was old enough to walk, and he’s been involved in so many interesting business ventures, and it seems that being in bands were just part of that. From building bikes to selling tequila, this man has done it all.

What I garnered from his experience working with Van Halen, was that it was exceptionally rewarding in the beginning. The man actually bought a house two doors down from Eddie, they felt so close to one another, and had so much fun recording together. They trusted each other like brothers, and you could feel that in his writing. He loved Eddie, and it was apparent.

The telling of the less enjoyable parts of his Van Halen experience was done with a fair amount of taste. Truthfully, some parts you could tell that he still felt pain, but he told it like it was, and in his own words, and I respect that. With explanations that were meant to sound like it was a brotherhood and treated like a family affair, I got that, and it was clearly and fairly done.

It was painful to read about how he could see Eddie going down and why. And it was hurtful to read about Eddie’s mistakes along the way, and to me, as much as I’d already read about his substance abuse, infidelity and betrayal, in articles, it’s almost like hearing it from Sammy confirmed it.

Overall, Red is a really great read, and I’d highly recommend it to any Van Halen fan, or even if you’re just looking for a well written biography, this is brilliant. Five stars.

Below is a YouTube video of Sammy with the Van Halen gang, as they perform three of my favorite songs, 'Amsterdam', 'Aftershock', and 'Can't Stop Lovin' You' live in 1995 at the Jon Stewart Show, as well as a cute but short interview.

More reviews of great rock star books to come, so stay tuned!

Happy Reading!

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