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."
Ha! When I heard that song at the convention it occurred to me that something like this would happen.
Good for Sammy.
Standing Hampton : politically speaking.
Back in the mid 80’s, Sammy Hagar said during an interview with Creem magazine that Ronald Reagan was “the coolest f*ckin’ President of my lifetime”.
“and Diamond Dave-approved.”
David Lee Roth has ranted many, many times in past interviews that Reagan destroyed this country. I wouldn’t count on his support for McCain in any way, shape, or form. He’s from a very liberal Jewish show business family. He’s closer to Barbara Streisand in politics than Ben Stein.
CDs have to be hit broadside by a shotgun blast to have much effect, and launching them on a stable flight path where the flat side faces the shooter is difficult.
I used to live two doors over from Sammy, just South of Carmel, CA.
I agree. I like Chrissie Hynde’s attitude. Rush uses one of her songs as his theme song every day, right? She is definitely not anywhere near being a Conservative, but she says if he wants to pay to use her product, that’s fine by her. politics aside. I wonder how much she’s earned in license fees from the EIB? Good for her.
Isn’t it interesting that the Van Halens are unable to see the irony in all of this. They are obsessed with property rights and support candidates whose very intent and agenda is to eliminate them. Give them their thirty pieces of silver and tell them to perform an unnatural act with themselves.
Sammy is OK in my book.
Pretty soon we’ll be down to playing Pat Boone 24/7.
Trig Van Palin was named after van halen.........you think they would appreciate that a little more.
Sammy Hagar is awesome!
Both candidates should tell these Has Beens to Stfu and play the music they want.
Actually, after the Dems played their song following Obama's speech, Kix Brooks released a statement saying they were proud that their song inspired Americans across the political spectrum. Once again, the Republicans acted like adults and let the libs act like whiny children.
The fact is most commercially recorded music is covered by assignment contracts signed by the authors and impacts their legal rights to control their work. This is apart from any registration with ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC.
Prior to Sarah Palin, who has? ; )
You saved me the trouble of writing pretty much what you said.
Yeah, that’s a good tune. However, DLR’s solo work pales in comparison to either his work with VH or Sammy’s solo stuff.
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From what I have heard they did pay all the fees. So what I have to say to these libralloons is fine, return all the fees that we paid.
I wasn’t talking about her politics.
:-D
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