Sammy Hagar on Writing "I Can’t Drive 55" and Its Accidental Protest Legacy

Professor of Rock · Nov 7, 2023 · 19m

Sammy Hagar was in Montrose. At the time they were called America’s answer to Led Zeppelin and it wasn’t even the biggest band he’d be a part of…. Since he joined Van Halen years later. Up next one of the greatest voices in rock history, the red rocker tells the story behind his biggest solo hit… I Can’t Drive 55 is a song that became a catchphrase in the 80s and came from getting pulled over by the police… When the song came to him he was panicked to get to a paper and pen so that he could Write it down… It was a song that he knew would capture the public and in a way, it became an…