Musician Sammy Hagar, former member of Van Halen and Montrose, performs onstage during the grand opening of Stage RED Theater on June 15, 2024 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images) Getty Images Patrick Tine, Times Union, Albany, N.Y.
(TNS) Before he takes the stage July 22 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Sammy Hagar wants to meet the officer who pulled him over in Upstate New York four decades ago. The speeding ticket the trooper wrote turbo-charged the rocker’s career. “This man would be backstage with his family and he would be treated like a king,” the former Van Halen singer said.
“I would do a shot with him, I’ll take pictures, I’ll give him a swag bag. I might bring him out on stage and introduce him.” The ticket inspired Hagar’s career-altering hit “I Can’t Drive 55.
” It was the middle of the night in 1983 and Hagar, his then-wife, Betsy Berardi, and son Aaron, were on the final leg of a journey that had taken them across three continents. They had been in Greece, Italy and Egypt before a safari in Kenya. “It was a wonderful family vacation,” Hagar said.
The family had flown from Nairobi to London and then on to New York City before one last flight to Albany. All that was left to do was head up the Northway to Lake Placid where Aaron attended North Country School and where Hagar owned a log cabin. The chalet had become an oasis from an increasingly hectic (and successful) touring schedule.
“I had been traveling f.
