james morrison and his big band tour

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Australia’s jazz giant James Morrison is back with a blast

Off the back of a string of performances in Europe and following a hugely successful Australian tour last year, world-renowned trumpet maestro James Morrison will tour the country this summer with his phenomenal big band. 

Born in a rural farming community in New South Wales, James has earned a global reputation as a jazz legend and trumpet virtuoso. He is a regular performer at some of the world’s major jazz festivals and clubs. He was the first Australian to work with jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie, who himself described James as “one of the best”, and has worked with other stars of the genre including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, B.B. King, and more. 

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Legendary jazz trumpeter james morrison announces show at hamer hall.

In celebration of his 60th birthday, the jazz maestro James Morrison has announced a tour that will celebrate the work of jazz legends.

Australian jazz musician James Morrison is coming on a tour of Australia with his big band, to celebrate the music of Ellington, Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and more. Trumpet virtuoso James Morrison is renowned as one of the finest jazz players of his generation, performing alongside the best jazz musicians and even performed the opening fanfare at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. His tour falls on the year of his 60 th birthday and to celebrate this milestone, Morrison is paying tribute to the jazz legends that have shaped his career.

What you need to know

• Australian jazz trumpeter James Morrison is coming to Melbourne
• He is joined by his big band, with saxophonist Andy Firth and vocalists Emma Pask and Darren Percival
• James Morrison will be performing at Hamer Hall on November 6

Check out Melbourne’s most comprehensive gig guide here . 

Having been inducted into the Graeme Bell Hall of Fame in 2013 at the Australian Jazz Bell Awards, James Morrison’s international career has shaped him into the maestro that he is today. His career has seen him as a presenter on Top Gear Australia, the conductor of the World’s Largest Orchestra in Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium and an ARIA winner for Best Jazz Album. This tour pays tribute to the many jazz greats that have come before him, including Sinatra and Count Basie, but also includes a special tribute to his late mentor, Don Burrows.

“I’ve been blessed to have so many great mentors and inspirational heroes – this tour is a chance to pay tribute to them and celebrate with some of Australia’s finest,” states James Morrison. Joining him on stage are the vocalists Emma Pask and Darren Percival, along with saxophonist Andy Firth, who will bring an undeniable energy and expertise to renditions of jazz classics.

Get your tickets to what is sure to be the jazz concert event of the year at the Arts Centre Box Office (1300 182 183) or heading here .

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James morrison and his big band, accessibility, reserves and prices.

Duke Ellington is undeniably one of the most prominent musical icons of the 20th century.

His big band classics reach deep into your soul and transform you through their distinctive ensemble sounds.

And they’re still amongst the most-performed today: Take the A Train , In A Sentimental Mood , Caravan , and of course, It Don’t Mean a Thing ( If It Ain’t Got That Swing ).

A giant among giants...one of the greatest masters of our time

2024 marks 50 years since the great bandleader’s passing, and who better to mark this special occasion and to celebrate the importance of his contribution to music than our very own international jazz maestro Mr James Morrison .

James is a musical genius in his own right, a multi-instrumentalist, and a highly entertaining showman, who always delivers an unforgettable performance.

I’m honoured to be paying respect to this legend of big band swing, who’s one of the most influential figures that’s shaped my career.

Joining James on stage will be a swingin’ big band, boasting some of the finest jazz musicians in the country.

Swing along to all the big band classics you know and love at this very special tribute.

Running Order

6:30pm - Front doors

7:00pm - Auditorium doors

7:30pm - First act

8:30pm - Interval

8:50pm - Second act

9:45pm - Approximate finish

This venue is wheelchair accessible.

Complete the Accessible Seating Form and you will be contacted to process your booking.

Performance Location : Her Majesty's Theatre

Her Majesty's Theatre is located at 58 Grote Street, Adelaide, which is on the north side of the street. You can’t miss the beautiful, street-facing entrance, and although there is no designated drop off area, cars can pause to drop off passengers nearby on Grote Street. 

Car Parking

There are many parking options around the Grote Street precinct, including on Pitt St, at Adelaide Central Market, and Wilson Parking on Franklin Street.  

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There is not a taxi rank direct­ly adja­cent to Her Majesty’s The­atre, but the near­est one is just 250m east, out­side the Hilton Hotel on Vic­to­ria Square. 

Public transport

Pub­lic trans­port is a great way to vis­it Her Majesty’s The­atre with no need to wor­ry about park­ing. Many busses, includ­ing the free bus that loops through the city and North Ade­laide, stop near­by as does the tram which stops in Vic­to­ria Square just 250m away. For more infor­ma­tion vis­it Ade­laide Metro.

We want to make your vis­it as enjoy­able as pos­si­ble and offer many ways to assist if sup­port is required.

Accessible seating

Remov­able seats are avail­able in the Stalls row G as well as on the Dress Cir­cle and Grand Cir­cle for patrons who wish to remain seat­ed in their wheel­chair or trans­fer to a the­atre seat. 

Lifts are locat­ed in the foy­er near the infor­ma­tion desk with access to all levels. 

Acces­si­ble toi­lets are avail­able at Her Majesty’s Theatre.

Assistance animals

Every theatre and event/function area of Adelaide Festival Centre is assistance animal friendly. 

Audio assistance

At Her Majesty’s The­atre, hear­ing loop facil­i­ties are avail­able in foy­er areas. 

Find out more about our access services

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Sydney » Calendar » James Morrison and His Big Band at State Theatre

James Morrison and His Big Band at State Theatre

Courtesy of Ticketmaster | Posted on April 18, 2023

State Theatre 49 Market St Sydney Map

Sat, November 18, 2023 19:30

Save the date

James Morrison

The price of each ticket includes a $1 Restoration Levy. Running Times: Doors: 6:30PM Auditorium Doors: 7:00PM Start: 7:30PM Interval: 20 minutes Finish: 9:45PM **Please note all times are approximate and subject to change. Together with his big band, they'll be embarking on a national tour with a very special show performing the swing classics made famous by the likes of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Sinatra, and more. Joining James on stage will be some very special guests and an All-Star Big Band, boasting some of the best jazz musicians in the country.

About James Morrison

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About James Morrison

James Morrison is, by anybody’s standard, a virtuoso in the true sense of the word. Besides the trumpet, this multi-instrumentalist also plays piano, all the brass, saxophones, and double bass.

At the age of six he started on piano, at seven he took up brass, at nine he formed his first band and at thirteen he was playing professionally in nightclubs. His international career developed just as quickly with a debut in the USA at the Monterey Jazz Festival at age sixteen.

Following this were performances at the world’s major jazz festivals, including Montreux, North Sea, Nice and the Hollywood Bowl, playing with many of the legends of jazz - Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, George Benson, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Quincy Jones, Ray Brown and Wynton Marsalis to name a few. James also frequents the world’s most famous jazz clubs – Birdland, The Blue Note and Village Vanguard in New York, New Morning in Paris, The Tokyo Blue Note and Ronnie Scott’s in London.

Now 58, James Morrison’s career has included much more than just jazz…

He has recorded with The London Symphony Orchestra, rock legends INXS and the European Brass Ensemble, performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms, written the opening fanfare for the Olympic Games, played Royal Command performances for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and for US Presidents Bush and Clinton. He has played classical trumpet at the Kremlin, was TV presenter on Top Gear Australia and on International Jazz Day 2016, James was a guest of President Obama at the White House.

James has been appointed a member of The Order of Australia, he is a Doctor of the University at Queensland Conservatorium of Music and has received a Doctor of Music from the Edith Cowan University Western Australia and the University of Adelaide. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Australia and Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow. In 2015 James founded his own academy of music in Mount Gambier, South Australia. The James Morrison Academy of Music @ UniSA is an innovative school dedicated to teaching jazz and offering both a Bachelor Degree and post graduate programs. This exciting initiative involves educators from all over the world, transforming young musicians’ lives with inspiration and a love of jazz. In 2017, the JMA partnered with The Juilliard School in New York City to offer an exclusive Honours Program.

James has also written and performed his own concerto with the Tonkünstler Orchestra at the Musikverein in Vienna and has appeared as a guest with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra at the Prague Proms and many more of the world’s major orchestras.

In 2018, James’s activities included a return performance to the legendary Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, The New Zealand International Jazz and Blues Festival, the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and a as special guest at UNESCO International Jazz Day at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. James and his new quartet embarked on an Australian jazz club tour to promote their debut album “Midnight Till Dawn” as well as a tour to the United States and Europe (Austria, Ireland, Portugal and the UK). In London, James presented a 4-part documentary series “Top Brass” for the BBC. James also appeared in the 2018 seasons of the

West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra.

2017 highlights included a world premier of a jazz concerto written specially for James by Gordon Goodwin on International Jazz Day, a debut at the BBC Proms in London alongside Dianne Reeves, return performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Ronnie Scott’s and the Jazz Cruise, a debut at The Green Mill in Chicago, headline appearances at Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, Oslo Jazz Festival, Vail Jazz Festival Colorado and Grahamstown International Music Festival South Africa, an Australian tour with Grammy Award winning diva Patti Austin and featured appearances at the Sydney Opera House for Australia Day and the Australian Embassy in Washington DC for the Presidential Inauguration. 2017 recording releases included a recording of the Great American Songbook at Abbey Road Studios with the BBC Concert Orchestra. James also continues his education work with appearances in New Orleans at the Jazz Educator’s Network Conference and workshops at the Juilliard School, the Thelonious Monk Institute and University of North Texas’s One O’Clock Lab Band.

Highlights of 2016 included a recording at Abbey Road Studios with the BBC Concert Orchestra for international release, sold out performances at the Prague Proms, Berlin Philhamonie, Budapest Music Centre and the Lionel Hampton Club in Paris, two sell-out return performances at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, two Australian tours, two European tours, a season with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a hugely successful solo tour all over the USA including the Miami Beach Jazz Festival, the Newport Beach Jazz Party, performances with John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton and the One O'Clock Lab Band and, of course, International Jazz Day at the White House with the President of the United States.

Other career highlights include performing with artists as diverse as Phil Collins, Chaka Khan and Sting.

He spends much time in education, doing master classes and workshops in many countries and presenting the James Morrison Jazz Scholarship at the world’s largest youth jazz festival Generations in Jazz.

When not writing film scores, composing or serving as patron of some of Australia’s major music institutions, James relaxes in some unconventional ways for a musician – flying his private plane or driving in a rally championship.

In a recording career spanning 3 decades, James has released a huge variety of albums from gospel to big band to electronic fusion. Nominated for eight ARIA Awards winning ARIA in 2010 and again in 2017. In 2013, James was inducted into the Australian Jazz Hall of Fame. In 2016, James’s disc “In Good Company” charted simultaneously in both the ARIA Jazz and Popular Album Charts, remaining at No 1 in the Jazz charts for over 20 weeks. James currently records for ABC Jazz/Universal and Fanfare Jazz and is an exclusive artist for Schagerl Instruments. He is also a proud Friend of the Brand for Mercedes Benz and Brand Ambassador for Oris Swiss Watches.

In 2012 James was appointed Artistic Director of the Queensland Music Festival, a state-wide music initiative whose vision is to “transform lives through unforgettable musical experiences.” As part of the festival, in 2013 James conducted the World’s Largest Orchestra, breaking a Guinness World Record with 7,224 musicians at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium. In 2014 James presented ‘A Tribute to Oscar Peterson’ at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival as part of the Commonwealth Games celebrations.

In 2019, James was the Co-Artistic Director (with Herbie Hancock) of International Jazz Day which was ‘live streamed’ from Melbourne, Australia to a world-wide audience of more than

With interests so broad and a career so filled with highlights it seems that James Morrison must have done just about everything he could want to do – but not so…

When asked, “What is there left to do?” James’ reply is typically “This is just the warm up!”

JAMES MORRISON celebrates his 60th with a National Tour

Adelaide her majesty’s theatre  sunday october 16, 2022  3.00pm bookings: bass box office 131 246 or bass.net.au, perth concert hall  sunday october 23, 2022  3.00pm bookings: perth concert hall box office 9231 9999 or perthconcerthall.com.au, brisbane  qpac concert hall  friday november 4, 2022  7.30pm bookings: qpac box office 136 246 or qpac.com.au, melbourne  hamer hall   sunday november 6, 2022  3.00pm bookings: arts centre box office 1300 182 183 or artscentremelbourne.com.au, sydney  state theatre  sunday november 13, 2022  3.00pm bookings: ticketmaster 136 100 or www.ticketmaster.com.au, tickets on now, happy 60th birthday james to celebrate this life milestone later this year, world-renowned trumpet maestro james morrison, will be embarking on a national tour with a very special show paying tribute to the jazz legends that have shaped his amazing international career, covering songs and stories from the likes of sinatra, count basie, dizzy gillespie, ella fitzgerald, ray charles, and also including a tribute to his mentor, the late don burrows., “i’ve been blessed to have so many great mentors and inspirational heroes – this tour is a chance to pay tribute to them and celebrate with some of australia’s finest” … james morrison., joining james on stage will be two incredible vocalists, emma pask and darren percival , and sensational saxophonist andy firth. together they will showcase their exceptional talents, and bring this unforgettable show across the country to adelaide, perth, brisbane, melbourne and sydney., get ready to be dazzled by renditions of all-time favourite jazz and swing classics and be entertained and enchanted by the brilliant showmanship and infectious energy of these gifted performers, backed by the best big band jazz musicians in the country. an irresistible combination, renowned globally as one of the finest jazz players of his generation, james morrison am is a not only a trumpet virtuoso, but the complete showman. he has performed alongside the best jazz musicians of our generation and has had the privilege of performing for the president and first lady of the united states. when asked about his extraordinary career, james declared, ‘this is just the warm-up’., award-winning vocalist emma pask , is one of australia’s favourite jazz singers who has performed all around the world. her effortless honest stage presence, combined with her powerful vocal ability, leaves audiences spellbound and inspired. she’s sure to delight with timeless jazz standards., darren percival is one of australia’s most accomplished vocalists, with an outstanding reputation as an entertainer and recording artist. his voice is warm and powerful and he consistently delivers astonishing performances and mesmerises audiences by his stage presence, his music and his charm., you’ll be in the mood from the first note book now to be part of this special celebration – tickets will sell fast  don’t miss what promises to be the jazz concert event of the year., amnplify – db.

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Syracuse’s Greatest Hits: A playlist of songs by famous artists with Central NY ties

• Published: May. 03, 2024, 9:32 a.m.

"Syracuse's Greatest Hits": Famous musicians with Central New York ties include (L-R) two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Lou Reed, rapper-singer Post Malone, and singer-model-actress Grace Jones. Getty Images

• Geoff Herbert | [email protected]

Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard is giving the “Syracuse Playlist” a remix this month by looking back at some of the biggest songs of all time from artists with Central New York ties.

“Syracuse’s Greatest Hits” is a new playlist highlighting famous singers and bands from Syracuse and CNY, including Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Grammy-winning musicians, buzzy rappers, Oscar-winning songwriters, and culturally significant artists. We’ve compiled 33 artists in rock, hip-hop, pop, country, jazz, R&B, swing, blues, and more who have had a major impact, from selling millions of albums (or generating billions of streams) to delivering breakthroughs for their genres or unique backgrounds.

Songs are also featured in a Spotify playlist called “ Syracuse’s Greatest Hits .” You can listen with a free Spotify account (or a paid subscription) and click on each artist to hear more of their songs, share them or add them to your own playlists to listen to at home or on a mobile device. (Cell phone data or WiFi may be required.)

Post Malone - “Circles”

Post Malone was born Austin Richard Post on July 4, 1995, in Syracuse, N.Y. He lived in Central New York until he was 10, when his family moved to Texas because his father (a former wedding DJ in CNY) was offered a job working for the Dallas Cowboys. The Grammy-nominated singer currently lives in Utah, but his family still owns a home in Baldwinsville. “Posty” is one of the biggest musicians on the planet today, with numerous RIAA records broken for platinum singles (12 of his songs, including “Circles,” “Sunflower” and “Rockstar,” have more than a billion streams — each — on Spotify alone) and collaborations with superstars like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and Ozzy Osbourne. He’s also known for his many tattoos, roles in movies (such as the recent “Road House” reboot) and many business ventures, including Bud Light Super Bowl ads, a professional beer pong league , a clothing brand (Trading Post Apparel), and his own lines of Crocs and Harley Davidson gear.

Post Malone speaks during a news conference ahead of the Super Bowl 58 NFL football game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) AP

The Chainsmokers - “Closer”

2012 Syracuse University graduate Andrew “Drew” Taggart is a singer, DJ and producer that’s best known as one-half of the EDM (electronic dance music) duo The Chainsmokers . He started writing their biggest hit, “Closer” (featuring Halsey), which reached No. 1 in 2016 and topped the charts for three months, while he was a student in SU’s Bandier music program and said some of the lyrics were inspired by his actual college experience . However, contrary to campus rumors, the line “roommate back in Boulder” was not originally a reference to Syracuse’s Boland Hall — he did live in BBB (Brewster, Boland and Brockway halls) as a freshman but said that part of the lyrics were based on some of his friends who went to school in Boulder, Colorado.

Alex Pall (L) and Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers perform onstage during Sips & Sounds Summer Festival at Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park on July 29, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images)

Grace Jones - “Slave to the Rhythm”

Singer, model and actress Grace Jones was born in Jamaica, moved to Syracuse at a young age and first started performing while attending Onondaga Community College. Her late father has a street named after him in Syracuse, Bishop Robert W. Jones Way, and Grace has a star on the Syracuse Walk of Fame outside the Landmark Theatre. An icon and provocateur of the 1980s and ‘90s, she sang club hits like “Slave to the Rhythm” and “Pull Up to the Bumper” while also appearing movies like “Conan the Destroyer,” James Bond’s “A View to a Kill,” and “Boomerang.” She still performs today, hula-hooping on stage at concert festivals and collaborating with artists like Beyonce, Gorillaz and Janelle Monae.

Grace Jones, who got her start in Syracuse, appears in a scene from the 1985 James Bond movie "A View to a Kill."

Barenaked Ladies - “It’s All Been Done”

Steven Page has lived in the Syracuse area for more than a decade since leaving Barenaked Ladies in 2009, currently residing in Manlius and enjoying regular trips to Wegmans and the New York State Fair . He performs as both a solo artist and the leader of the Steven Page Trio, but he’ll always be tied to BNL, the Canadian Hall of Fame band known for songs like “If I Had $1000000,” “The Old Apartment,” “It’s All Been Done” (which he wrote solo) and “One Week.”

Former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page is pictured performing at Chevy Court at the New York State Fair in 2022. (Charlie Miller | [email protected])

REO Speedwagon – “Keep on Loving You”

REO Speedwagon’s original drummer Alan Gratzer was born in Syracuse and performed on the band’s biggest hits, including “Keep On Loving You” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” Gratzer, who formed the classic rock group with University of Illinois classmate Neal Doughty in the late ‘60s, co-wrote their early songs and provided backing vocals, plus co-produced 1980′s certified diamond (10 times platinum) album “Hi Infidelity” (featuring “Keep On Loving You” and “Take It On the Run”). Gratzer left the band in 1988 and retired from music, but briefly reunited with singer Kevin Cronin and the current lineup in 2019 .

(L-R) Bass guitarist Bruce Hall, lead guitarist Gary Richrath, rhythm guitarist and lead singer Kevin Cronin, drummer Alan Gratzer, and keyboardist Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon pose for a portrait backstage at the Cobo Arena on December 31, 1985, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images) Getty Images

Jeff Buckley - “Grace” (with Gary Lucas)

Syracuse native Gary Lucas co-wrote Jeff Buckley’s “Grace,” named one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone. Lucas, who graduated from Nottingham High School in 1969, wrote the music and Buckley penned the lyrics. Lucas today is a guitarist, songwriter and composer whose career also included performing with Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band and the psychedelic rock group Gods and Monsters; working for CBS Records (including promoting The Clash as “The Only Band That Matters”); touring all over the world; more than 50 albums; and scores composed for a long list of films and TV shows including 2012′s “Greetings from Tim Buckley.”

Jeff Buckley (1966 - 1997) (left) and Gary Lucas at Vartoogian Studios, New York, New York, February 6, 1992. (Photo by Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images) Getty Images

Dio – “Rainbow in the Dark”

Ronnie James Dio, born Ronald James Padavona in New Hampshire and raised in Cortland, N.Y., is a metal legend who famously popularized the “devil horns” in rock and roll. He started out as a trumpet player, performing at the New York State Music Festival in sixth grade, and later adopted the name “Dio” while forming a doo-wop band at Cortland High School. He became an international star with bands like Elf, Rainbow, Dio, and even replacing Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. The hometown hero had a street named after him in Cortland (”Dio Way”) and he was posthumously awarded a SAMMYs Lifetime Achievement Award from the Syracuse Area Music Hall of Fame in 2014.

Frontman Ronnie James Dio of heavy metal group 'Heaven and Hell' performs on stage during a concert in Oslo, on June 4, 2009. Terje Bendiksby| AFP via Getty Images

Lou Reed - “Walk on the Wild Side”

1964 Syracuse University graduate Lou Reed is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, inducted as both a solo artist and for The Velvet Underground, the hugely influential rock band that included guitarist Sterling Morrison, a classmate at SU, and drummer Maureen “Moe” Tucker, the younger sister of Morrison’s friend from Syracuse. Reed, who died in 2013, wrote songs and poetry while at SU, plus hosted his own late-night show on campus radio station WAER called “Excursions on a Wobbly Rail.” He maintained his connections to Syracuse years later, founding the Lou Reed/Delmore Schwartz scholarship for creative writing students in 2007 and sharing the VU song “Head Held High” in a video ad for the school highlighting prominent alumni.

Musician, singer, songwriter, and poet Lou Reed (1942-2013), plays on stage during A Conspiracy of Hope concert on behalf of Amnesty International on June 6, 1986 at the Forum in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images)

The Rascals – “Good Lovin’” (Felix Cavaliere)

Syracuse University alumnus Felix Cavaliere , who grew up in Pelham, N.Y., is a singer, songwriter, producer and musician best known for his work with The Young Rascals, also known as simply The Rascals, on ‘60s hits like “Good Lovin’,” “Groovin’,” “A Beautiful Morning,” “How Can I Be Sure” and “People Got to Be Free.” He was also a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters (“Peppermint Twist”), had a solo hit with “Only a Lonely Heart Sees,” and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Rascals.

Keyboardist Felix Cavaliere and The Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. (Provided photo)

Gym Class Heroes - “Cupid’s Chokehold”

Frontman Travie McCoy, who grew up in the Finger Lakes city of Geneva, formed Gym Class Heroes in 1997 as a teenager with his friends Matt McGinley and Ryan Geise. The group built a following by performing a mix of hip-hop and alternative rock at Syracuse University and other CNY colleges; band members included Milo Bonacci, who went on to form Ra Ra Riot at SU, and Cornell University alumnus Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo. Gym Class Heroes scored two top 10 hits with the Supertramp-sampling “Cupid’s Chokehold” (feat. Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy) and “Stereo Hearts” (feat. Adam Levine of Maroon 5), plus won an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 2007. McCoy also had a solo hit with “Billionaire” (feat. Bruno Mars).

(L-R) Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo, Matt McGinley, Travie McCoy and Eric Roberts of Gym Class Heroes attend the 2011 Z100 & Coca-Cola All Access lounge at Z100's Jingle Ball 2011 pre-show at Hammerstein Ballroom on December 9, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images) Getty Images

Ra Ra Riot – “Can You Tell”

Syracuse is the only city all the members of Ra Ra Riot lived in together, according to lead singer Wesley Miles. The indie rock band formed in 2006 at Syracuse University when Miles, guitarist Milo Bonacci, bassist Mathieu Santos, and violinist Rebecca Zeller started performing together with cellist Alexandra Lawn, who left the group in 2012, and drummer John Pike, who died in 2007. Ra Ra Riot, which now includes current drummer Kenny Bernard, has released five albums, including the acclaimed 2008 release “The Rhumb Line” and 2019′s popular shift into synthpop, “Need Your Light.”

(L-R) Musicians Milo Bonacci, Rebecca Zeller, Wes Miles, Mathieu Santos, and Kenny Bernard of Ra Ra Riot perform in concert at the Historic Scoot Inn on October 23, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images) Getty Images

Benny Mardones – “Into the Night”

Benny Mardones, a.k.a. “The Voice,” was best known for “ Into the Night ,” one of the few songs to reach the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 twice (in 1980 and 1989). Between those nine years, Mardones struggled with cocaine and alcohol, but when his son was born in 1985, he moved to Syracuse to get clean. He successfully kicked the drug habit and began performing again with a Central New York band, The Hurricanes, in his adopted hometown. “When I was addicted to drugs, Syracuse opened its arms to me,” he  told syracuse.com  in 2017, before playing  his final show  at the Turning Stone Resort Casino. “It gave me my life back. The fans never wavered. The radio stations played my songs.” Mardones died in 2020.

Benny Mardones performs at the Palace Theatre in Eastwood Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. Lauren Long | The Post-Standard

Toosii - “Favorite Song”

Toosii, whose real name is Nau’Jour Grainger, is a Syracuse native who moved to North Carolina at age 13, but still thinks of Syracuse as his hometown. He had a huge year in 2023, as his breakout single “Favorite Song” hit No. 5 on the  Billboard Hot 100  and No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs, earning him appearances on “ The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ” and “The Voice.” He was also named to the XXL Freshman Class in 2021 and has collaborated with artists like Future, 21 Savage, DaBaby, Latto, and Wiz Khalifa.

Toosii performs during Rolling Loud at Citi Field on September 25, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)

Pete Yorn - “Strange Condition”

Yorn is a 1996 Syracuse University graduate best known for his acclaimed 2001 album, “Musicforthemorningafter” (featuring “Strange Condition”); songs in films and TV shows like “Shrek 2,” “Spider-Man,” “Me Myself & Irene” and “Just Like Heaven”; plus collaborations with actress Scarlett Johansson and a role in the Oscar-nominated film “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The singer-songwriter worked as a DJ at Harry’s bar while attending Syracuse and has remained a fan of his alma mater, famously appearing on David Letterman’s show the night SU basketball won the NCAA championship in 2003, and giving the 2011 convocation speech to SU’s School of Visual and Performing Arts.

Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn visits SiriusXM Studios on August 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images) Getty Images

Cherry Poppin’ Daddies - “Zoot Suit Riot”

Cherry Poppin’ Daddies lead singer Steve Perry was born in Syracuse and grew up in the Southern Tier, moving to Oregon after graduating from Vestal High School. His band was a big part of the ‘90s swing-ska revival with hits like “Zoot Suit Riot,” which reached No. 15 on the Modern Rock chart and earned CPD a nomination for Best New Artist at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.

Cherry Poppin' Daddies lead singer Steve Perry was born in Syracuse and grew up in the Binghamton area. Video still

Gloriana - “(Kissed You) Good Night”

Gloriana was a country music group that featured Utica-born-and-raised brothers Tom and Mike Gossin along with Cheyenne Kimball and Rachel Reinert. Their 2009 hit “Wild at Heart” led to winning Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards and Top New Vocal Group at the ACM Awards. Tom Gossin co-wrote their platinum-selling followup single “(Kissed You) Good Night.” Kimball left the band after its first album and Reinert left after a third album, effectively breaking up Gloriana, but the Gossins have continued to write and perform as solo artists.

Recording artists Tom Gossin (L) and Mike Gossin of Gloriana perform during the Route 91 Harvest country music festival at the Las Vegas Village on October 2, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) Getty Images

Black Eyed Peas - “Hot” (with Kim Hill)

Syracuse native Kim Hill was a singer on Black Eyed Peas’ first two albums, but left in 2000 — just before rappers will.i.am, Taboo and apl.de.ap hit it big with Fergie on songs like “Let’s Get It Started,” “Where Is the Love?” and “I Gotta Feeling.” Hill grew up in Camillus, performing with the Syracuse Children’s Chorus, at West Genesee High School, and in the choir at Payton Memorial Temple Church of God in Christ. She found success in commercials and “In Living Color” in the ‘90s before joining BEP, becoming a part of their early success appearing on “Soul Train” on Warren Beatty’s “Bulworth” soundtrack. She said she quit the hip-hop group when music executives pushed her to be more sexy and dance in a bikini, opting for a solo career as a singer, DJ and actress in small indie projects. She’s also stayed close with family in Syracuse, donating a kidney in 2005 to her brother Brian, a founding pastor of The King’s Healing Room.

Syracuse native Kim Hill appears in the music video for the Black Eyed Peas' "What It Is."

Martin Sexton - “Diner”

Syracuse native Martin Sexton is a singer-songwriter who has released more than a dozen albums, been featured on TV shows like “Scrubs” and “Parenthood,” and earned famous fans like actress  Kristen Bell  and news anchor  Brian Williams . He moved to Massachusetts in his early 20s but remains a big fan of his hometown, even shouting out The Gem Diner (formerly Doc’s Little Gem) on his 1996 song “ Diner .”

This provided photo by Joanna Chattman shows singer-songwriter Martin Sexton.

Frank Sinatra – “Come Fly with Me” (written by Jimmy Van Heusen)

Syracuse native and Syracuse University alumnus Jimmy Van Heusen is not a household name, but he may be the biggest songwriter to come out of the Salt City. Van Heusen earned four Academy Awards, an Emmy Award, three Tony nominations and a Grammy nomination for co-writing songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and other crooners including “Come Fly With Me,” “Call Me Irresponsible,” “All the Way,” “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,” “Swinging on a Star” and “Love and Marriage.” He was born Edward Chester Babcock on the city’s West side in 1913, got his start as a disc jockey for WSYR and WFBL, and was recognized in his hometown with a star on the Syracuse Walk of Stars and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the SAMMYS.

Joanne Shenandoah – “Peace and Power”

Joanne Shenandoah , a world-renowned singer and activist from the Oneida Indian Nation, released more than a dozen albums and performed at venues ranging from the White House and Carnegie Hall to the Vatican. She won a Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Native American Music Album for her part in the “Sacred Ground: A Tribute to Mother Earth,” received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the national Native American Music Awards and entered the SAMMYS Hall of Fame at the 2007 Syracuse Area Music Awards. Shenandoah died in 2021.

Joanne Shenandoah performs during the opening of Woodstock 94 on Aug. 12, 1994, in Saugerties, New York. (Harry DiOrio | The Post-Standard) Harry DiOrio | The Post-Standard

Joe Bonamassa - “Blues Deluxe”

Blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa was born in New Hartford, N.Y., and grew up in nearby New York Mills. The Grammy-nominated musician first started performing in Upstate New York as “Smokin’ Joe” when he was 12 years old and soon opened for B.B. King, eventually becoming a blues legend himself with 16 solo albums since 2000.

Joe Bonamassa performs at Fox Theatre on November 18, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan. Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images

Libba Cotten - “Freight Train”

Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten , who won her first Grammy Award at the age of 90 while living in Syracuse, was best known for folk songs “Freight Train” and “Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie,” and had her compositions covered by artists like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Gary Clark Jr. and The Quarrymen (who later became The Beatles). The self-taught musician played the guitar upside down because she was left-handed, and pioneered “Cotten Picking,” a style of playing bass notes with her index finger and melody notes with her thumb. She was declared a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts and recognized by the Smithsonian Institution, plus posthumously honored with the Early Influence Award at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. A bronze statue of her likeness sits in The Libba Cotten Grove , at the corner of South State and Castle Streets.

This Post-Standard file photo shows folk musician Libba Cotten performing at the Dr. King School in Syracuse on Feb. 17, 1984.

Phish - “Tweezer”

Phish drummer Jon Fishman is a Syracuse native and a SAMMYS Hall of Fame member. He co-founded the popular jam band with Trey Anastasio, Jeff Holdsworth and Mike Gordon at the University of Vermont in 1983. Anastasio is typically the lead singer, but Fishman sometimes contributes vocals and co-writes songs for the group, including on Phish’s “Tweezer” and “Taste.”

Bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman with the band Phish performing at the Oncenter in Syracuse in 2009. Gary Walts / The Post-Standard The Post-Standard

Anthrax - “Madhouse”

Thrash metal singer-drummer Joey Belladonna, born Joseph Bellardini in Oswego, was nominated for three Grammys for his work in the ‘80s and early ‘90s with Anthrax’s classic lineup. Belladonna has also performed as a solo act and with Central New York-based bands like Chief Big Way and the Journey tribute Beyond Frontiers.

Joey Belladonna of Anthrax performs at Coney Island Amphitheater on August 26, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images) Getty Images

X Ambassadors – “Renegades”

X Ambassadors is an alternative rock band from Ithaca featuring singer-guitarist Sam Harris; his brother Casey, who was born blind and plays keyboards; and guitarist Noah Feldshuh. XA released its debut album in 2015 and hit No. 1 with “Renegades,” which has 774 million plays on Spotify and was featured in a national car commercial for the Jeep Renegade. Other hits include “Unsteady,” “Home” (with Machine Gun Kelly), and “Sucker for Pain” (with Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Imagine Dragons, Logic and Ty Dolla $ign).

Sam Harris of X Ambassadors performs at the Danforth Music Hall on April 24, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images) Getty Images

Clairo - “Sofia”

Claire Cottrill, better known as singer-songwriter Clairo , went viral with her bedroom-pop song when she was a 19-year-old freshman at Syracuse University. The song now has 450 million streams on Spotify and led to bigger hits, including “Bubble Gum” (479 million) and “Sofia” (710 million), plus a Rolling Stone magazine cover and became a beacon for Gen Z fans who find comfort in her lyrics about depression and bisexuality.

Clairo performs on stage at HISTORY as part of "The Sling Tour" on July 26, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Mathew Tsang/Getty Images) Getty Images

Savoy Brown – “Tell Mama” (Kim Simmonds)

Kim Simmonds, a Welsh musician who sang and played guitar and harmonica, founded the blues-rock band Savoy Brown in London during the 1960s. He moved to Oswego County in 1992 and reformed the group with Central New York musicians, plus performed in Blues Express and as a solo artist. The late frontman’s hits with Savoy Brown include “Hellbound Train,” “I’m Tired - Where Am I” and “Tell Mama.”

Kim Simmonds, of Oswego, is the leader of the band Savoy Brown. (Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard | File photo, 2011)

Garland Jeffreys – “Matador”

Jeffreys graduated from Syracuse University in 1965 and was part of the cultural revolution on campus along with Lou Reed, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. He studied art history at SU but soon found his niche as a singer-songwriter, combining rock, reggae, blues and soul music on songs like “Matador,” “96 Tears,” “Hail Hail Rock ‘N’ Roll,” and the unofficial skaters’ anthem “Wild in the Streets” (covered by The Circle Jerks for the 1986 film “Thrashin’”). Jeffreys’ career also included collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, John Cale, Dr. John, and Duncan Sheik. He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hal of Fame in 2016 and retired in 2019.

Garland Jeffreys during 21st Annual SXSW Film and Music Festival at Antone's in Austin, Texas, in 2007. (Photo by Rick Diamond/WireImage) WireImage

moe. – “Happy Hour Hero”

moe., a jam band which formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989, features members all with roots in Upstate New York. Al Schnier, Chuck Garvey, Vinnie Amico and Rob Derhak all hail from the Utica area, and the group frequently performs across the region, including at Syracuse’s SAMMY Awards and their own music festival, known as moe.down . Popular songs include “Happy Hour Hero,” “Nebraska,” “Okayalright” and “In a Big Country.”

Al Schnier performs with renowned jam band moe. in 2014 at the Regional Market's F Shed. Scott Schild | [email protected] Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.

Andy Mineo – “You Can’t Stop Me”

Andy Mineo is a 2006 Henninger High School graduate who got his start in Syracuse with the hip-hop group Fat Camp before finding international success as a solo Christian rapper. His songs “Coming In Hot” (with Lecrae) and “You Can’t Stop Me” each have more than 100 million streams on Spotify and his music can be heard in movies and TV shows like “Moms’ Night Out,” “Dear White People” and “Gran Turismo.” He also notably was part of Lecrae’s Grammy-winning album “Gravity” — the first hip-hop release to win Best Gospel Album — and paid tribute to his deaf sister with the 2016 ASL (American Sign Language) music video for “ Hear My Heart .”

Andy Mineo attends Ui Culture App Launch Party at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 10, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Maury Phillips/WireImage) WireImage

SpongeBob SquarePants – “The Best Day Ever” (Tom Kenny)

Tom Kenny , a 1980 graduate of Bishop Grimes High School and a Syracuse Area Music Awards (SAMMYS) Hall of Famer, is best known as the voice of “SpongeBob SquarePants” for 25 years. The prolific voice actor has done more than 500 movies and TV shows, but also finds time for his love of music, including performing with his rock-and-soul band Kenny & The Hi-Seas and recording/writing songs for the many “SpongeBob” films and series.

Spongebob Squarepants and Tom Kenny arrive at the 2017 Princess Grace Awards Gala Kick Off Event at Paramount Pictures on October 24, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Greg Doherty/Getty Images

Jimmy Cavallo - “Rock, Rock, Rock”

Cavallo was Syracuse’s father of rock and roll , playing saxophone in bands that mixed swing music with rhythm and blues in the 1940s. He caught the attention of famed NYC DJ Alan Freed, who got Cavallo signed to Coral Records and put him in the 1956 movie “Rock! Rock! Rock!” Cavallo and his band, the House Rockers, played the title track for the film as well as “The Big Beat” before returning to Syracuse in the ‘60s. Cavallo, also known for the fan favorite “Fanny Brown,” died in 2019 at the age of 92.

This 2012 file photo shows Jimmy Cavallo, left, and the Houserockers performing during the New York State Blues Festival, Clinton Square, Syracuse. Joining him on stage are sax player Joe Carello and bassist Chuck Sgroi. Gary Walts | The Post-Standard

Vanessa Williams – “Save the Best for Last”

Williams is a singer, actress and model who was the first Black woman crowned Miss America in 1983 while she was a Syracuse University student. She later got a bachelor’s degree from SU and has gone on to an impressive career that includes the Grammy-nominated “Save the Best for Last,” the Oscar-winning “Pocahontas” song “Colors of the Wind,” a Tony Award nomination for Broadway’s “Into the Woods,” three Emmy Awards for “Ugly Betty,” and roles in “Desperate Housewives,” “666 Park Avenue,” “Shaft,” “Dance with Me,” “Eraser,” and numerous TV specials.

Vanessa Williams attends the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2024 Gala at The Ziegfeld Ballroom on March 4, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images) Getty Images

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Sammy Hagar Reflects on Red Rocker Roots and How Fontana Hometown Shaped His Art

By Steven Gaydos

Steven Gaydos

Executive VP of Content

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They say, “If you remember the ’60s, you weren’t there,” but newly minted Hollywood Walk of Fame honoree Sammy Hagar not only remembers the ’60s, but the ’50s as well. As someone who grew up in that same era in Hagar’s hood, the former hometown of America’s biggest steel mill west of the Mississippi and birthplace of the Hells Angels — Fontana — I can attest to the veracity of Hagar’s crystal-clear total recall. 

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Most important of all, Hagar — whose career not only includes stints in great bands like Montrose and Van Halen and a successful restaurant chain and tequila brand — has roots planted in the soil that once featured bounteous citrus groves, almond and peach orchards and sprawling grape vineyards. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has ample, sharply recollected fond memories of his Fontana (aka Fontucky) youth and his musical coming of age there. 

“I loved growing up in Fontana,” says the seemingly eternally ebullient Hagar. “If you think about it, it’s got an incredible location: an hour to the mountains, to Joshua Tree, to the beach, to Hollywood. My friends and I used to pool our gas money and head out to all those places. I loved the mountains in the summer and the desert in the winter. I started out as a greaser but then I got hip and became a hodad. I got white shoes and white jeans and started to spend my time at the beach.” 

With two older sisters, the pre-teen Hagar joined the 1950s rock and roll revolution. 

A few years later, Hagar was rocking on stages around the Inland Empire, long before he made the trek up the coast in 1969 to San Francisco and wound up with a major label deal as a member of hard-rock outfit Montrose in the 1970s.

It all started, as we so many nascent ’60s rockers, in 1964, when the Elvis allure faded and the British Invasion kicked into high gear.

“The Beatles led the British Invasion happened, but what really got me was when the Rolling Stones hit. They looked like tough guys from Fontana. I had an older friend, Ed Matson, who played guitar well and helped me learn all those Stone songs,” Hagar says.

“I remember, he asked me, ‘How do you remember all those lyrics?’ I can still do it. I remember all my lyrics and always have. So, I could sing all those Stones hits. [Editor’s note: Including “Route 66!”] Somebody said, ‘Let’s start a band and pretty soon we had our set of seven or eight songs, which included a couple of surf songs for the locals. But I was also a soul music guy. I was into James Brown and Hendrix. And I actually saw Otis Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival. I went there, not to see the rock groups, except maybe Eric Burdon, but I wanted to see Otis!”

Down the road, in Hawthorne, California, Brian Wilson’s Beach Boys were the American answer to the Beatles. The surf may have been an hour away, but surf music was lapping up on our Inland Empire shores.

“I used to go to the National Guard Armory in Riverside to hear Dick Dale. Around that time, I got in a band called the Fabulous Castiles and we used to play ‘Surfer Stomp’ at Brunton Hall in Fontana. We didn’t even have a drummer and we all played through one amp. The Justice Brothers came later and that’s when I wanted to get serious. We tried to make a living by playing in bars.”

As we compare notes on our teen years in the Inland Empire, my own recall kicks in and I realize that before I saw Hagar with his band the Justice Brothers at the Night Club in San Bernardino, I caught his act at a Battle of the Bands in the mid-1960s at a Fontana Shopping Center, when he was fronting a soulful combo colorfully called the Mobile Home Blues Band. “Our dream,” Hagar recalls, “was to live in a motor home and drive up and down the coast playing our music.” 

The motor home adventures didn’t happen, but the Mobile Home Blues Band scored an early Hagar victory: “We actually won one of those battles of the bands and the first prize was a Vox white teardrop guitar white teardrop guitar. It’s exactly the same one that Little Steven (Van Zandt) has today!”

Digging deeper, Hagar delineates the fine points of 1960s rock iconography. 

“‘Meet the Beatles’ changed the world, but it was the Stones for me. They changed the way I looked. Every time I joined a band, I wanted to be Keith AND Mick. Then, in my heart, I wanted to be Jimi Hendrix. Then I wanted to be Jeff Beck, but not the later-era Beck. That guy was too good. I can’t play like that. I wanted to be the Jeff Beck Group Jeff Beck. AND Rod Stewart. The two guys from that album ‘Truth.’ And I rode that bus until I heard Bob Dylan’s ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ and I realized how important lyrics are. And then I started writing my own music.” 

Hagar, one of hard rock’s preeminent showmen, makes a surprising admission about his softer side. 

“Around the time of Dylan, I also got turned onto Donovan and to be honest, I was more of a Donovan guy than a Dylan guy. Donovan had the same feelings as I had about lost love and had a romantic streak I identified with. I actually cut a version of his song ‘Young Girl Blues’ on my first solo album. I’ve met him and I still love his music. He’s a great poet.” 

Once Hagar split from Southern California and took his act up the coast to the Bay Area, he blended well into the Haight-Ashbury peace and love scene. 

“The Grateful Dead were playing in the park for free and I wanted to be part of that. I became a hippie. I could sleep on people’s floors. No problem! I had my guitar and I wanted to play and sing, so I fit right in, except I was never a heavy drug guy.”

Soon, Hagar put away the love beads as success and fame first beckoned when he was invited to join guitar virtuoso Ronnie Montrose’s band Montrose on Warner Bros Records. The ‘60s were over and new musical influences were wafting through the streets of San Francisco.

“I saw David Bowie, Alice Cooper and Marc Bolan and all the glitter rock guys, and I loved all of them and I thought, ‘This is the future,’” says Hagar, ruefully adding, “But I was getting too glittery. I called myself Sammy Wild for a while. Ronnie was stripped down and that was the right way to go.”

As his time in Montrose drew to a close in the late 1970s and Hagar was segueing into a solo career, he found a new music hero who combined the raw soul of Hagar’s rhythm and blues heroes, the sharp edginess of Dylan and the deep, thoughtful romanticism of Donovan: Irish soul legend Van Morrison. 

“Then it was Van Morrison,” says Hagar. That’s who I wanted to be. Bowie came and went, but Van remains. One of my best songs, which I just wrote recently, ‘Father Time,’ really has my Van Morrison influence all over it.” 

As the decades of rock progressed, bands that dared pomposity in their arrangements (think Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King Crimson) or snappy costumes (such as pre-Hagar Van Halen) were in the crosshairs of the nascent, gnarly movement out of England called “Punk.” Which a decade later had morphed into “Grunge.”

Hagar explains an important aspect of his personality that has played a key role in his continual growth and evolution as an artist: “I’m a white light, positive energy guy. I’m not bitter, I’m not angry. “

“When I saw the Sex Pistols at the Winterland [in 1978] cutting themselves, spitting on each other, they scared me. I couldn’t be farther away in outlook. But I immediately thought ‘This must be the future.’ What I think went wrong was that they were discovered too early. They needed to develop more. But what mattered was the ‘You’re all full of shit’ rawness. That was what they were selling, and it was simple and real.”  

By the time the Seattle grunge got the rock music world all shook up in the late 1980s, Hagar was the lead singer of Van Halen, one of the world’s biggest bands, but he was open to the sounds and felt a kinship with the young West Coast artists who, like him, were trying to express themselves through the wonderfully powerful medium of rock and roll.

“Kurt Cobain had a profound influence on me. As soon as I heard and saw grunge, it was like ‘I’m a Fontana guy. LET’S GO.’” 

“Cobain said in interviews that his first concert was Sammy Hagar at the Tacoma Dome. But when grunge really hit, a lot of the young guys coming up were throwing rocks and we were one of the biggest bands in the world. But it was easy for me to go back to my roots, playing barefoot and in shorts, not all dressed up like when we went the wayward way! I saw Alice in Chains and said, ‘Let’s take them on tour with us.’” 

More than the music perhaps, the tragedy of Cobain had a profound impact on Hagar, whose self-described “white light” outlook never blinds him to the realities of life learned early, where the young Hagar faced personal darkness in sunny Fontana. 

In his autobiography, “Red,” Hagar vividly details his hardscrabble early days when his family’s very existence was threatened by the raging alcoholism of his ex-boxer father. I suspect that the pungent blossoms of my memories of the long-gone Fontana orchards may not be as romantically remembered by Hagar.  

Hagar’s mother had to drive the kids into the protective cover of the orange groves to hide from the violent man whose life ended drunk and hand-cuffed in the back of a Fontana police car. 

It’s OK, I’ll do what I want/I can drive/I can shoot a gun in the streets/ Score me some heroin./I can jump/ Be the sacrifice/ Bear the cross just like Jesus Christ/And I don’t wanna hear/What love can do. 

Those words were written in a troubled time in Hagar’s life, when the speeding Van Halen megaband train derailed. 

Like every other turn in Hagar’s long and winding California road, this one led to some incredible successes, many of which seem to only be growing in a multitude of musical adventures and business initiatives. One of the most exciting, to this former IE kid at least, is Stage Red, Sammy’s new theater in Fontana.  

So the story doesn’t end in the orange groves or in a mobile home or lonely out on the dark desert highway those other Californians like to sing about.

Sammy Hagar and the Hagar Family lived, and prospered, with Prodigal Son Sammy in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and somewhere way up in the high rankings of those Forbes celebrity lists. One report has Hagar personally pocketing $125 million for selling his share of the Cabo Wabo brand — long before, we should add, the record will show, a man named Clooney scored big with a rival libation.

Revisiting Fontana with Hagar is a blast, but revisiting Hagar’s body of work yields a rich and newfound appreciation for the depth of feeling and ambitious, restless energy of a California artist who even had a hit record about not accepting any speed limit other than his own. 

From his affecting take on ‘Young Girl Blues’ on the first solo LP, up to his recent plucky, pensive and perfectly beautiful ‘Father Time,’ Hagar has always had more than one gear.

In his late 70s, is Mr. “I Can’t Drive 55” slowing down?  

Out here on Route 66, it doesn’t look that way.  

Sammy’s “Best of All Worlds” tour, which features Hagar along with rock superstars Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Jason Bonham, slams into the Kia Forum in Inglewood this summer. If you’re keeping track, that’s nearly 60 years and exactly 67 miles from the Fontana Square Shopping Center Battle of the Bands where “All” started. 

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