''VOA'' is the eighth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

, released on July 23, 1984 by

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

. In 1985, Hagar joined

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

and ''VOA'' was his last solo album until 1987's '' I Never Said Goodbye''. The title is a reference to the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

broadcast network. The album features the single "

I Can't Drive 55 "I Can't Drive 55" is the lead single and first track from Sammy Hagar's eighth studio album ''VOA'' in 1984. Perpetuated by a very successful music video, it became a concert staple that continued throughout Hagar's tours as a member of Van Hal ...

", Hagar's most successful song as a solo artist. The album peaked at number 32 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

album charts on December 15, 1984.

Background and recording

The album was recorded at Fantasy Recording in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

and

Sunset Sound Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, and then mixed at The Power Station in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. According to the album's liner notes,VOA album liner notes, 1984 "Burnin' Down the City" is inspired by the

street artists A street artist is a person who makes art in public places. Street artists include portrait artists, caricaturists, graffiti artists, muralists and people making crafts. Street artists can also refer to street performers such as musicians, acro ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals, lead guitar *

Gary Pihl Gary O. Pihl (pronounced "peel") (born November 21, 1950) is an American rock musician and guitarist best known for playing with Sammy Hagar and the hard rock band Boston.

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

Jesse Harms Jesse Harms (born July 6, 1952 in Massachusetts) is an American musician and songwriter. He has worked with Sammy Hagar, David Lee Roth, Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon, Bad English, Guitar Shorty, Patty Smyth, and McAuley Schenker Group. Early l ...

– keyboards, backing vocals *Bill Church – bass guitar, backing vocals *

David Lauser David Lauser (born 20 February 1951) is an American rock drummer, who is most famous for playing with Sammy Hagar. Sammy Hagar and David Lauser played together in a band called Justice Brothers before Sammy Hagar joined Montrose. Lauser later ...

– drums, backing vocals * Ted "Champagne" Templeman – percussion

Production

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple criticall ...

– producer *Jeff Hendrickson – engineer *Tom Size – assistant engineer *Gary Rindfuss – assistant engineer *Eric Mohler – assistant engineer *

Terry Christian Terence Christian (born 8 May 1960) is a British broadcaster, journalist and author. He has presented several national television series in the UK including Channel 4's late night entertainment show '' The Word'' (1990–1995) and six series o ...

– assistant engineer

Chart positions

Album Singles

Certifications

References

External links

Lyrics from Hagar's official web site
Sammy Hagar albums 1984 albums Albums produced by Ted Templeman Geffen Records albums Warner Records albums {{1980s-rock-album-stub