Sammy Hagar Delivers Iso Version of his Van Halen Classic ‘Right Now’ - Noise11.com
Sammy Hagar and the Circle

Sammy Hagar and the Circle

Sammy Hagar Delivers Iso Version of his Van Halen Classic ‘Right Now’

by Paul Cashmere on June 15, 2020

in News

Sammy Hagar has delivered an iso-version of his Van Halen classic ‘Right Now’ almost 30 years after the first release of the song.

Sammy Hagar & The Circle recorded the new version apart in isolation.

“When I wrote this song with Eddie Van Halen over 30 years ago I had no idea it would be so relevant today,” Hagar said in a statement.

The Circle is Hagar with former Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham on drums and Vic Johnson on lead guitar.

‘Right Now’ was the third single from Van Halen’s 1991 ‘F.U.C.K.’ album (For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge).

Eddie Van Halen wrote his original guitar piece for the song for the 1984 movie ‘The Wild Life’. Eddie scored the movie. He wrote the piece in 1983 before ‘Jump’. You can hear the origins in this clip:

Hagar wrote the lyrics for the final Van Halen ‘F.U.C.K.’ version. He later said, “I was tired of writing cheap sex songs,” he recalled almost two decades later. “Eddie and I wanted to get serious and talk about world issues.”

The provocative video captures concerns at the time which resonate now with block letters portraying words like ‘Right Now You Are Sitting Too Close’ and ‘Right Now Oil Companies and Old Men Are In Control’.

The song’s message lost its potency when Van Halen sold it to Pepsi for a commercial in 1992. Eddie said at the time that if he didn’t licence it the studio would just hire musicians to cover it.

The song has also been misused at political rallies. Trump used it at his rallies. George W. Bush has also used on one of his campaigns. When John McCain used it in 2008 Eddie and Alex Van Halen issued the statement, “Permission was not sought or granted nor would it have been given.”

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