Posted on 09/16/2008 8:46:30 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
16-Sep-08
Eddie Van Halen Reaches Out To Sammy Hagar Over The GOP's Use Of Their Song "Right Now"
Rolling Stone magazine reports that days before Heart served the GOP campaign with a cease-and-desist letter for playing their 1977 hit "Barracuda" to introduce VP pick Sarah Palin (high school alias: “Sarah Barracuda”) at the August 31st Republican convention, Van Halen sounded off against McCain and Co. for blasting their tune "Right Now" at a rally in Dayton, Ohio. “Permission was not sought or granted nor would it have been given [to use the song]," Alex and Eddie Van Halen said in a statement. But not every VH member agreed.
"I got goosebumps from it — my fur went up," says the band’s ex-frontman, Sammy Hagar, who co-wrote and sang the song — and said he’d be "just as happy" if Obama played it. "I was honored that a potential president of the United States used those words in a positive sense, like, 'We gotta act now!' "
Hagar, who’s tight-lipped on his presidential endorsement ("I vote for the man, not the party," he says) heard that McCain used the tune via a deluge of phone calls. "I got calls from relatives, friends, doctors, lawyers… everyone thought it was so cool," he says. "Then I started getting excited. Those words are an old Zen philosophy — it’s totally cool that they’re timeless." Even former bandmate Eddie Van Halen rang Hagar up.
"I got a message on my cell phone and it was Eddie’s voice," Hagar recalls. "He goes, 'Sam? This don’t sound like you. I got the wrong number.' And he hangs up! So I hit redial. He didn’t answer, but I left a message: 'Ed, it’s me. If you would like to talk about the 'Right Now' situation I'd love to speak to you about it.'"
The two never connected, which raises some lingering questions. "Why didn’t [Van Halen] say no when Pepsi Cola gave us a million dollars to use the song in a Pepsi Light commercial?" asks Hagar. "That’s when you say no. That isn’t the message of this song." But when a potential future president is using it to bring a message to the world, he says, "I’m going, 'Hell, yes!'"
"Right Now" is on Van Halen's 1991 album "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge."
Eddie Van Halen spends to much time staring at his guitar to follow politics. What does he care what music Republicans listen to?
Hagar’s pretty much a straight-up GOP’er, but he doesn’t make waves about it, hence the hush-hushness about it.
He went to the RNC in St. Paul, if I heard correctly.
Sammy’s great. The rest of the band sucks
I hope Hagar stays away from this nonsense. I like the guy and his music.
So typical of the Bozos like Van Halen, the Wilson sisters, Mellencamp, etc. First ones to scream censorship. At this point in time, these ‘80s relics should be thankful that anyone is listing.
Useless idiots.
>> He went to the RNC in St. Paul, if I heard correctly.
I wonder if he drove ...
I’m sure it was the dim-witted Eddie & Alex who named the album:
For
Unlawful
Carnal
Knowledge
Sammy ain’t voting Obama - bank on that.
He’s a longtime libertarian/conservative patriot.
Listen to “VOA” off the 1984 album of the same name - that’s no liberal singing that song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNspZx5pPWo
Actually, I LOVE Sammy as a solo artist. With VH he had some good tunes - “Right Now” was among them.
However, VH was best with DLR. DLR solo, however, blew chunks.
Isn’t Sarah Palin’s son Trig Van Palin? I got the impression she was doing a play on Val Halen’s name. If that is true, shame that they would react so strongly when she has paid them one of the highest compliments.
Suppose you missed all this, but no, that'd be public performance, and you gotta pay licensing fees to the artist/label/song writer. ASCAP, gotta love them.
Yep. I’d be shocked if he supported Obama.
AGREED! Sammy Rocks!
Right Now lyrics: (So, sue me Eddie!)
Dont wanna wait til tomorrow
Why put it off another day?
One more walk through problems,
Built up, and stand in our way ,ah
One step ahead, one step behind me
Now you gotta run to get even
Make future plans, dont dream about yesterday, hey
Cmon turn, turn this thing around
Right now, hey
Its your tomorrow
Right now,
Cmon,its everything
Right now,
Catch a magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
Miss the beat, you lose the rhythm,
And nothing falls into place, no
Only missed by a fraction,
Slipped a little off your pace, oh,
The more things you get, the more you want,
Just trade in one for the other,
Workin so hard, to make it easier, whoa,
Got to turn, cmon turn this thing around
Right now, hey
Its your tomorrow
Right now,
Cmon, its everything
Right now,
Catch that magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
Its enlightened me, right now
What are you waitin for
Oh, yeah, right now
(solo)
Right now, hey
Its your tomorrow
Right now,
Cmon, its everything
Right now,
Catch that magic moment, and do it right,
Right now
Right now, oh, right now
Its whats happening?
Right here and now
Right now
Its right now
Oh,
Tell me, what are you waiting for
Turn this thing around
Found them here:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/v/van+halen/right+now_20142896.html
And they have a complimentary Right Now ringtone.
This is all just BS. They have NO control over who plays their songs, all they have to do is cash the royalty check. McCain-Palin and the RNC have Public Performance Licenses, NO PERMISSION NEEDED or REQUESTED!
Republicans and Conservatives bought your damn records too, you know. Or would you prefer to give our money back?
Just shut up and sing, you pinheads.
Love that song...
I respect most artists who are politically humble. They’re usually annoying otherwise. But what musician in the circuit isn’t a friend of one who’s the political opposite or politically void?
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