Sammy Hagar Recalls His 'Jim Morrison' Moment Opening For KISS

iHeartRadio ICONS With Sammy Hagar And The Circle: Inside The Making of Space Between At The iHeartRadio Theater LA

Sammy Hagar revealed that one of his worst-ever gigs was opening for KISS in the mid-'70s.

The former Van Halen front man offered the anecdote up in a new book by Drew Fortune called No Encore!, which chronicles some of the weirdest on stage moments by 60 music icons.

According to Hagar, his lone show in support of Kiss at Madison Square Garden in 1977 was supposed to be the first of 10, but it went so poorly that it was his last.

"I had my second solo record out," Hagar recalled in an except for Classic Rock magazine. "... [Kiss] sold out Madison Square Garden, and they asked me at the last minute to be the opening act for the 10-show, East Coast run. ...Nobody knew who I was, or even that I was on the bill, because I was added last minute. I didn't even have any fans yet, anyway."

Kiss fans turned against Hagar as soon as his name was announced. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said he stopped singing after his third song as boos rained down on him.

"I yelled, 'You f---ing a--holes! You didn't even give me a chance. You started booing me before hearing the music. F--k you!"

That was bad enough, but Hagar added an additional dig, "I see they've flown in an audience from Los Angeles for this show."

By then fans were throwing things at the Red Rocker. So what did Hagar do?

"...[I] pulled down my pants, dropped my drawers, and pulled out my d--k. I shook it at the crowd, then smashed my 1961 Stratocaster to pieces and walked offstage."

On the way out, Hagar was in no mood to thank Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley for the opportunity.

"I unloaded on them, too, saying, 'F--k you guys, too!' And that was it. I didn't do any more shows with Kiss. Paul was saying, 'You can't talk to people like that, man! You gotta go out and prove yourself. You can't do it like that.' I'm still going, 'F--k you and your makeup and your fans!"

Hagar added that he never got in trouble for exposing himself.

"Hell, it was New York , and they don't care," he added. "They see that every day. Jim f---ed up because he did it in Florida."

Photo: Getty Images


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