New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted, Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter
Sammy Hagar today released "Father Time," the emotionally reflective final music video from his new chart-topping album, "Crazy Times," with The Circle. The album, released
September 30, debuted at No. 6 on Billboard's Top Album chart, his second top 10 in the last four years. Hagar, who just celebrated his 75th birthday, wrote the song as an introspective look back at his life, illuminated in the music video through a collection of his personal photos.
Reflecting on the intense personal nature of the song, Hagar said, "When I first wrote Father Time, I kept it from everyone because it was so personal that I'd get too choked up to actually sing it. I wrote it just after turning 70 while I was at our then home in Maui. That house was my sanctuary in the middle of the jungle, overlooking the ocean-- it was just paradise. The words 'Father Time's over there looking over my shoulder' just kept going through my head, so I picked up my guitar and the rest of the song just came spilling out. I turned on my iPhone and recorded it. I cried my eyes out after I wrote and played it back. It's probably the most personal song that I've ever written and now, after just turning 75, I'm finally ready to release it."
"Crazy Times," recorded at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A, is Hagar's 27th studio album and his second recorded with The Circle. Produced by eight-time Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, the 10-track album dropped on Friday, Sept. 30, via UMe, on CD and on all digital and streaming platforms HERE, with the vinyl, including an exclusive translucent red album, following on Oct. 28 and available for pre-order HERE. In addition to a standard CD, standard LP & digital deluxe, Walmart has an exclusive 2CD edition featuring the album + a bonus disc of Hagar hits, and Target has an exclusive which features two bonus tracks. Nine of the tracks were written or cowritten by Hagar, along with the notable cover, "Pump It Up," a 1978 song by
Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Cobb co-wrote three songs on the album and performed with the band on every track in the process. The music video for "
Father Time" was produced by Chris and Aimee Kurtz and edited by
Aaron Abercrombie & Sean Power.
Critical praise for the album:
"(Dave) Cobb finally got to team up with his hero this year when he produced
Sammy Hagar and the Circle's new LP Crazy Times... The songs touch on everything from corporate greed to the wisdom of old age, but the pandemic is the common thread that ties it all together." - Rolling Stone
"…one of his most satisfying albums in years." - Ultimate Classic Rock
"Crazy Times shows Hagar's maturation, finally achieved in his mid-70s, and that he's improving with age." - Top40-Charts.com
"Front and center we have Hagar's voice, which has always been reference quality as to what you'd want from a hard-rock frontman - all syrup and gravel and soul. Stick your best pair of headphones on and listen… you can hear that this choice is money well spent." - Guitar World
"It's (Jason) Bonham who kicks off this album driving the lumbering pace of 'Slow Drain,' on which Hagar bemoans the state of things, 'Watching the world go down.' There's melody there, but it's the sheer muscle of the musicians' playing - especially Bonham's - that make this, and most of the 10 songs here, stand out." - Riff Magazine
"Sammy Hagar lays into bad actors and bad mojo on his new album Crazy Times." - Rolling Stone
CRAZY TIMES TRACKLIST:
INTRO: THE BEGINNING OF THE END
SLOW DRAIN
FEED YOUR HEAD
PUMP IT UP
BE STILL
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
CRAZY TIMES
FUNKY FENG SHUI
FATHER TIME
CHILDHOOD'S END
Bonus Tracks (available on the Target deluxe edition CD and via streaming platforms)
2120
FATHER TIME - ACOUSTIC
For more than five decades,
Sammy Hagar has been recognized as one of the best and most accomplished lead singers and songwriters in rock music. From breaking into the industry with the seminal hard rock band Montrose, to his multi-platinum solo career, ride as the frontman of Van Halen,
Chickenfoot and his latest best-selling supergroup, The Circle, he's amassed 25 Platinum albums on sales surpassing 50 million worldwide. Along his journey, he's set the tone for some of the greatest rock anthems ever written with songs like "I Can't Drive 55," "Right Now," and "Why Can't This Be Love," and earned the highest respect of the music industry with a Grammy Award and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Since launching his flagship Cabo Wabo Cantina in 1990, he's turned a lifelong passion for great food, music and spirits into a thriving and iconic lifestyle brand. A pioneer in the spirits industry, Hagar's development and 9-figure sale of Cabo Wabo Tequila to Gruppo Campari in 2008 is widely credited as the start of the celebrity-owned spirits trend. His portfolio now includes Sammy's Beach Bar Rum, Santo Tequila, and Sammy's Beach Bar Cocktail Co., as well as several restaurants. Never one to hit the brakes, he's also found success in publishing, TV, radio and beyond, including five seasons of his hit TV show, "Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar," and "Sammy Hagar's Top Rock Countdown," his syndicated radio show that's broadcast on 90+ U.S. stations. He's also a #1 NYT bestselling author, dedicated philanthropist, and in January 2022, he was bestowed the first Honorary Ambassador to Los Cabos, in recognition of his longtime investment in the people and economy of Mexico. Visit RedRocker.com and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and his newly launched TikTok for more information.
