The only singer Sammy Hagar wanted to trade lives with: “I wanted to be that guy”

Sammy Hagar has said Donovan was the musician whose life and career he would most have liked to trade places with. The folk singer’s elegant stage presence and unexpected shift from acoustic guitar to electric guitar with a band made a strong impression on Hagar when he was a teenager.

Hagar recalled seeing Donovan at the Trip club when he was 15, dressed in velvet and performing first on acoustic guitar, then with a Stratocaster and Fender amp. Donovan’s blend of folk and rock helped shape Hagar’s own musical outlook, which extended beyond the hard rock associated with Montrose and Van Halen to acoustic songwriting and country collaborations.