Sammy Hagar Pays Tribute to Aerosmith by Covering The Beatles

Sammy Hagar paid tribute to Aerosmith, who recently announced their retirement, with a Beatles song on Friday night during his The Best of All Worlds Tour in suburban Detroit. He had a very personal reason for his choice of song.

Back for the encore at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, Hagar shared with the crowd some unexpected news. He mentioned that a friend working for Aerosmith informed him of the band’s retirement. “Aerosmith called retirement today. They quit. They stopped. God bless ’em; it’s a horrible thing. What a great loss,” Hagar said.

Hagar reminisced that Montrose, his band, had opened for Aerosmith in 1974 at Detroit’s famous Cobo Arena. Although Hagar mistakenly referred to the year as 1973, he vividly remembered not knowing who Aerosmith was at the time. “We didn’t know who they were, and they sold out Cobo Hall. I’m going, ‘Who the heck are these guys?'” Hagar shared. Reflecting on the performance, Hagar recalled, “We did our show, did an encore, and played ‘Helter Skelter’ by the Beatles. Aerosmith came on and opened with the same song. Steven (Tyler) and I have been friends ever since.”

Hagar expressed deep affection for the band. “Long story short, we love those guys. We all grew up with them. Mike (Anthony) and I, you know, they’ve been our competitors to Van Halen for about 10 years. We would say, ‘Screw those guys,’ but in reality, we really liked them. We were just mad at them. It’s such a shame. It’s sad.”

However, Hagar also agreed with Aerosmith’s decision to retire. “My hat goes off to one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time, Steven Tyler, for saying, ‘I can’t sing anymore. I quit.’ That’s honorable. The day I can’t sing anymore, I will do the same thing,” Hagar remarked. He believed many other artists should have done the same long ago. “So let’s do one for them. Let’s do one for Aerosmith,” he declared.

In tribute, Hagar and his band performed a powerful rendition of “Helter Skelter,” replacing their usual first encore, Montrose’s “Space Station #5.” They followed this with Chickenfoot’s “Big Foot” and Van Halen hits “Jump” and “When It’s Love.”

Aerosmith had previously postponed their Peace Out farewell tour last September, citing a vocal injury sustained by Steven Tyler after just three shows. The tour was planned to resume on September 20 in Pittsburgh, with dates announced through February. The group announced their cancellation and retirement from touring, stating to fans, “It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours. In every club, on every massive tour, and at moments grand and private, you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives.”

Source: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff