http://www.zimbio.com/The+Best+and+Worst+Replacement+Singers/articles/SfWGFoutJJs/

The Best and Worst Replacement Singers
Most bands undergo a few lineup changes here and there, but few can endure the impact of a lead singer switch-up.

1 Rad Replacement: Sammy Hagar for David Lee Roth
Dedicated Van Halen fans are divided about the Sammy Hagar years, but honestly, the Red Rocker did a solid job of filling in for Diamond Dave after Roth departed the band in 1985. Yes, he was involved in one of the most pretentious music videos of all time, but doesn’t everyone kind of love that video?

2 Weak Replacement: Gary Cherone for Sammy Hagar
After Sammy Hagar’s acrimonious departure from Van Halen in 1996, Eddie and crew attempted and failed to reunite with David Lee Roth before hiring Gary Cherone, the man previously best known for his early ’90s hit with Extreme, “More Than Words.” Van Halen fans did not take kindly to this calm new presence.

That link says that Mike Patton was a bad replacement for Chuck Mosely??? WTF!!!!!!!! Thats probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever read…. Ever.

Also, John Corobi replacing Vince Neil was a great thing. That “Motley Crue” album with Corobi was awesome.

I always thought Gary was a great choice to replace Sammy. Made perfect sense when I first heard about it. While I like VH3, it obviously diidnt turn out as good as it could of been. Its a shame only one cd came from that time…

Don’t know why I’m replying to this b/c avoided these threads lately, but…. I guess we’re back in the between-tours holding pattern and we’ll have to deal with this crap again and again.

You usually replace something b/c something’s not working, or you want something better. Ed’s hip replacement is an example. His hip wan’t working for him the way he needed it to, so he had it replaced. The implication is that it’s supposed to be an upgrade, by definition.

That’s probably why this post goes right through me b/c the assumption of the writer is that Sammy was an upgrade. I know that there are still people here (very quiet for a while) that feel this way, and maybe Ron is one of them. It sure seems like it with all of these Sammy/Chickenfoot related posts over the years. Regardless, it’s time to deal with reality: Sammy is not coming back as long as Wolfgang is in the band. And, Sammy is not coming back if Wolfgang’s not in the band.

Wolfgang has made no secret of the fact that he prefers the Dave-era of VH b/c it’s more rocking, like the AC/DC records he seems to love. Like everything else related to this issue, it’s an opinion. It just so happens that his opinion is more important than just about anyone else’s at this point. Why? Because without Wolfgang wanting to make music with the family, Ed would not be doing it. And there is no replacing him, regardless of his condition (see Chickenfoot). So Dave it is, for now.

I say “for now” b/c I get the sense that, at some point, Wolfgang will want to go back to fronting his own band. I believe he could do it too. I also believe that he could make a record with dad and uncle Al that would at least be interesting. No doubt it would be the subject of much debate, but I think it might be a real breath of fresh air. Then some schmucks like zimbio would say that he was a weak replacement for DLR and he would want out.

God knows that would make the Sammy people happy. Then he would have his chance. He might be 70 at the time, but shit, roll his fat ass out there. Oh yeah (no pun intended). That will never happen b/c as re-invigorated as Ed seems now, he would probably lose all interest in continuing on with the band at that point. Soooo….

Let’s just enjoy all that we VH fans have now – a new record and tour(s). There’s no guarantee that it will last. I’m not making excuses for the current problems in the band (Dave’s voice, cancellations, etc.). I’d just hate to go back to having to see these seemingly daily, desperate attempts to legitimize Sammy’s place in VH history, when the reality is that that’s what he is now – history.

I thought Gary would be a good fit, at first. I really liked Extreme, so it just made sense.

It wasn’t Gary’s fault VHIII was so bad…..he didn’t write the music, or produce it. Besides, he started out as not only replacing Hagar, but also Roth, due to the MTV reunion scam.

VHIII could have been good if Ed wrote songs in a classic Van Halen format, and they had someone else like Ted Templeman produce the album. That album was too much of a right turn for any fan to handle. Didn’t sound anything like Van Halen…..I like to refer to it as Ed’s solo album.

I love Dave-era Van Halen; I love Sammy-era Van Halen; I love Gary-era Van Halen; I love Van Halen.

wjamflan:
That’s probably why this post goes right through me b/c the assumption of the writer is that Sammy was an upgrade. I know that there are still people here (very quiet for a while) that feel this way, and maybe Ron is one of them. It sure seems like it with all of these Sammy/Chickenfoot related posts over the years.

The reason for all those “Sammy/Chickenfoot related posts over the years” is because they were doing something while the VH machine had flicked the OFF switch on almost everything. If Van Halen had been in the news, you’d have seen that info, but the silence had reached 12 on a 10 scale and there wasn’t anything we could do about it.

ron: The reason for all those “Sammy/Chickenfoot related posts over the years” is because they were doing something while the VH machine had flicked the OFF switch on almost everything.If Van Halen had been in the news, you’d have seen that info, but the silence had reached 12 on a 10 scale and there wasn’t anything we could do about it.

Ok. Point taken. Is that really the case now? There’s not enough VH news to tide us over without another Sammy in VH post?

wjamflan: Ok. Point taken. Is that really the case now? There’s not enough VH news to tide us over without another Sammy in VH post?

Keep in mind, I didn’t write the story, I just posted a link to it and the VH parts. I didn’t put it in the “VH News” section here either, as it’s not VH news. I put it in the “Corner Pub” section.

The bands (Van Halen and Chickenfoot) are on a break right now. Who knows what VH is up to, Joe S is out on a G3 tour IIRC. I could post a photo of a LA Kings shirt that Wolfgang likes. Is that VH news? The Wabos (Sammy’s parttime band) are playing two shows in Tahoe (tonight and tomorrow), is that news for here?

There just isn’t a whole lot of VH news at the moment outside every tom dick and joe news reporter talking about the superbowl story (which has several threads here already).

There just isn’t a whole lot to talk about when the band is on a break, but we’re used to that.

ron: Keep in mind, I didn’t write the story, I just posted a link to it and the VH parts.I didn’t put it in the “VH News” section here either, as it’s not VH news.I put it in the “Corner Pub” section.

The bands (Van Halen and Chickenfoot) are on a break right now.Who knows what VH is up to, Joe S is out on a G3 tour IIRC.I could post a photo of a LA Kings shirt that Wolfgang likes.Is that VH news?The Wabos (Sammy’s parttime band) are playing two shows in Tahoe (tonight and tomorrow), is that news for here?

There just isn’t a whole lot of VH news at the moment outside every tom dick and joe news reporter talking about the superbowl story (which has several threads here already).

There just isn’t a whole lot to talk about when the band is on a break, but we’re used to that.

I hear you Ron. It’s just that this Dave/Sammy crap is soooo old now, and no one ever changes their mind. I just thought I would make a request for a reality check and maybe the ability to move on and not have to deal with these pot stirring posts. They’re not fun at all.

I appreciate than Ron always posts ALL of the mentions of any VH related blurbs that he comes across, thank you Ron.

BTW, I never saw Sammy as a replacement for Dave – or Gary either for that matter, I saw it more as filling a vacancy & continuing onward….You can’t replace Dave!!!

wjamflan:I just thought I would make a request for a reality check and maybe the ability to move on and not have to deal with these pot stirring posts. They’re not fun at all.

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If you don’t like what someone posts, ignore it and move on. Responding to it, keeps the flames burning…….ignoring it will make it die. Pretty simple.

steecoe:
I appreciate than Ron always posts ALL of the mentions of any VH related blurbs that he comes across, thank you Ron.

BTW, I never saw Sammy as a replacement for Dave – or Gary either for that matter, I saw it more as filling a vacancy & continuing onward….You can’t replace Dave!!!

Great comment and very true in every great band that goes through changes. You can replace anybody and know matter how good they are when it comes to the material done with the original singer gone its different. Same was true with my all time favorite band Deep Purple. Gillan left Coverdale took over. Very similar to the Van Halen history. Coverdale did a great album in Burn, but when he sang Gillans tunes live it wasn’t the same. Gillan leaves again after coming back and Joe Lynn Turner stepped in. Sounded good on the album they released. But live when he tried to be Gillan or Coverdale it was weak because it was different.
Then the worst thing happened. Blackmore left, the man with all the riffs. Satriani filled in to cover the tour and was great live. Then enter Steve Morse and they haven’t had a hit or a good solid album since. Van Halen will always be a force as long as Eddie is there and can write good tunes. Hell look at Sabbaths history. I have videos of them with Ozzy,Gillan,Dio,Halford,Hughes, all really good singers but it was always different and not like the original.

It might be worth noting that nearly every band in the history of music (including bands VHTers are in, I’m guessing) has had different lineups over their careers. Outside of U2 I can’t think of a longstanding-all-original lineup that’s still out there. It’s a little more interesting when it’s the lead singer that changes, but it’s really not at all uncommon in the music industry. I suppose the Sammy vs. Dave stuff comes up so often because the change happened to the greatest band in the world after a huge selling album?

For one album each (Eat ‘em and Smile & 5150) I thought we had the best of both worlds (ahem), but after that I kinda lost interest in both solo Dave and VH.

Oh, and I didn’t read the article, but my vote for best replacement is Bruce Dickenson, perhaps tied with Brian Johnson.

wjamflan:
Then some schmucks like zimbio would say….

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I like that word “schmuck.”

wjamflan:

Then he would have his chance. He might be 70 at the time, but shit, roll his fat ass out there.

Why all the Sammy is sooo fat from the Dave only crowd? Stupid. Sammy is in his mid 60′s, has millions of dollars, lives a great life. Hell, I would weigh 350lbs if I was him. Enjoy life, be happy. What about Wolfie? This kid is in his early 20′s, and not exactly Jenny Craig thin. Does it matter? No. So why does it matter if Sam has gained some pounds? The man still sings great every show, that’s all that matters.