Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote about Sammy:
After spending several years as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the mid-’70s hard rock band Montrose, Sammy Hagar began a solo career that produced several hits and made him an album rock favorite. Hagar became a true star once he joined Van Halen in 1985, but he’d been a popular hard rocker ever since his first album with Montrose.
In 1985, Hagar replaced David Lee Roth in Van Halen; his first album with the group was 1986’s 5150. Hagar released his last solo album in 1987; the record was coined I Never Said Goodbye in an MTV contest. Hagar stayed with Van Halen throughout the remainder of the ’80s and half of the ’90s. During that time, the band had four other multi-platinum albums — OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge(1991), Live: Right Here, Right Now (1993), and Balance(1995) — before tensions began to surface between Hagar and the rest of the band.