Sammy Hagar and Van Halen had a falling out back when the band forced the front man out. Since then, there’s been little to no contact, besides a brief return to the band in 2003. So when Hagar heard that Eddie Van Halen wasn’t well, he desperately tried to get in touch with his former bandmate. Hagar wanted to bury the hatchet while Eddie was still alive, but he was running out of time.
Hagar reached out to Alex Van Halen, to the band’s manager, anyone he could think of. Hagar didn’t have Eddie’s new number, so he waited to hear from Eddie, but he never did. Finally, Hagar got Eddie’s number from their mutual friend, comedian George Lopez, and made the touching call.