The summer of 1985 marked a turning point in rock history, the moment when Van Halen began a new era. On September 13, 1985, the band made their first major public appearance with Sammy Hagar at the MTV Video Music Awards, just months after David Lee Roth’s high-profile exit. It was the world’s first glimpse of the new lineup, and it set the stage for one of the most successful reinventions in rock.
Van Halen didn’t perform that night, but their presence was enough to send shockwaves through the music world. Hagar, already a respected solo artist known for hits like “I Can’t Drive 55”, appeared alongside Eddie Van Halen, confirming the rumors that had been swirling for months. For fans, seeing the two side by side was both surprising and electrifying, a visual confirmation that the post-Roth era had officially begun.
“People couldn’t believe it,” Hagar recalled years later. “One day it’s just talk, and the next, there we are at the MTV Awards. That was the moment the secret was out.”
But the real unveiling came nine days later, on September 22, 1985, at the first-ever Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Illinois, an event organized by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp to support struggling American farmers. Midway through the show, Hagar took the stage to perform “I Can’t Drive 55”. Mid-song, a familiar figure walked out: Eddie Van Halen, guitar in hand.
The crowd erupted. It was the first time Eddie and Sammy performed together in public, and, more importantly, it was the moment the world officially learned that Hagar was now the lead singer of Van Halen.
“We didn’t even plan it as some big announcement,” Hagar later explained. “Eddie and I were just having fun. He grabbed a guitar, jumped onstage, and the crowd went nuts. That’s how people found out, live, raw, and in the moment. Totally rock ’n’ roll.”
Their chemistry was undeniable. Eddie’s signature tapping riffs intertwined perfectly with Sammy’s powerful vocals and high energy stage presence. What started as an impromptu jam instantly felt like the start of something big.
Within months, the new Van Halen lineup, Eddie, Alex, Michael Anthony, and Sammy Hagar, would begin recording what became 1986’s 5150, their first No. 1 album and the first to feature Hagar on vocals. The record’s success would prove that Van Halen’s transformation wasn’t just a gamble, it was a rebirth.
“That Farm Aid moment was history in the making,” one journalist wrote at the time. “In less than ten minutes, the entire direction of Van Halen changed, and fans witnessed it live.”
Looking back now, the dual events of the MTV VMAs and Farm Aid 1985 mark the symbolic bridge between two distinct eras: the flamboyant Roth years and the more melodic, radio-ready Hagar years. Both moments captured Eddie Van Halen’s unshakable confidence in moving forward, no matter how big the shoes he had to fill beside him.
“It was like lightning striking twice,” Hagar later said. “First the MTV thing, then Farm Aid. That’s when we became Van Hagar. From that point on, there was no going back.”
In just nine days, Van Halen went from uncertainty to triumph, turning a moment of transition into one of the most memorable introductions in rock history, proving once again that when Eddie Van Halen hit the stage, anything could happen.
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