Better than “that Roth character?” Sammy Hagar’s “shocked” by Wolfgang Van Halen’s “sweet, soulful voice”

Al Mancini; Travis Shinn

Wolfgang Van Halen, the son of late Van Halen icon Eddie Van Halen, is earning many fans of his own with his Mammoth WVH solo project. One of those fans is former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar, who tells ABC Audio he’s been “shocked” by one particular aspect of Wolf’s sound.

“My most impressive thing isn’t the fact he played every instrument,” Hagar says. “That’s cool, that’s awesome, but he’s Eddie Van Halen’s son, hello? Eddie could play every instrument too, you know, so he was raised that way.”

“But, I love his voice,” the Red Rocker adds. “I think he’s a great singer, and being a singer myself, that was shocking to me.”

Hagar shares that he’s heard “about five songs” from the self-titled debut WVH album, which dropped earlier this month. With each one, he became more and more impressed with Wolf’s vocals.

“I loved his voice,” Hagar says. “Every song I’ve heard him sing, he’s got a sweet, soulful voice.”

In fact, Hagar implies that Van Halen would’ve been better off in the band’s later days if Wolf, who starting playing bass in the group in 2006, took over vocal duties as well from one David Lee Roth.

“He could’ve sang with the reunion tour with that Roth character,” Hagar says of Wolf. “He could’ve sang ‘Right Now,’ ‘Why Can’t This Be Love.’ He could’ve sang ‘Top of the World.'”

The Red Rocker adds, “Wolfie could’ve sang the songs. But I’m sure Diamond would’ve had no part of some guy on stage singing better than him.”

Wolf will be bringing his sweet, soulful voice on the road this summer and fall while opening for Guns N’ Roses. He’ll also be playing several headlining dates.

Hagar, meanwhile, just announced a Las Vegas residency, kicking off in October.

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