Sammy Hagar's "Eagles Fly" was supposed to be a Van Halen song, but when Alex Van Halen heard the demo he dismissed it—only to regret it when he heard the final version on Hagar's 1987 solo album I Never Say Goodbye. The Red Rocker recalled the story in a recent episode of his "Storytime" YouTube series.
“I’m at the studio,” Hagar explained in the video. “I’m playing it for Ed, and Alex is standing in the background, and I’m… on guitar, acoustic. And Alex goes, ‘Sounds like John Denver!’"
“I’ll never forget it!" he added. "I’m going, ‘Yeah – what’s wrong with that? John’s a bad motherf***er! Shut your mouth when I’m talking about John! … [I]t was just such a funny reaction.”
Hagar ended up recording the song for is own album, with Eddie Van Halen contributing guitar, bass, and backing vocals. When Alex heard the final product, he asked why it wasn't a Van Halen song.
“Alex heard it on the record,” Hagar said, “and he goes, ‘Hey, man, you should have saved that for Van Halen!’ I said, ‘Dude, don’t you remember what you said about that song?’”
Despite "Eagles Fly" being a solo song, it was a staple on the setlist during Hagar's time in Van Halen. “It was just really ironic that it [became] one of his favorite songs,” the singer noted. “[It was] one of Eddie’s favorite songs of mine… And it should have been on a Van Halen record."
“That would have been unbelievable if it would’ve been on OU812," Hagar admitted. "But it is what it is; and it’s a song that I will play for the rest of my life.”
Watch the full video below.