The younger brother of blues artist Johnny Winter, Edgar starting racking up some hits with his group in 1972 when "Keep Playin' That Rock 'N' Roll" landed at #70. Their breakthrough hit would arrive shortly thereafter when the classic "Frankenstein" made its way to #1. During its tenure, Winter would work with a number of talented artists who later had successful musical careers of their own. The Edgar Winter Group scored another hit with "Free Ride," which peaked at #13 in 1973. The song was penned by member Dan Hartman, who wrote or co-wrote their remaining chart appearances. Following some personnel changes that put guitarist Rick Derringer (The McCoys) front and center, the group managed one more Top 40 entry before the end of their chart career - that was when "River's Risin'" reached #33 in 1974. Ronnie Montrose was also a member of the group from 1972-1974. The genre-blending anthem "Give It Everything You Got" comes from the band's 1971 effort, "White Trash." After his group's hey day, Edgar Winter did a great deal of session work for artists as diverse as Tina Turner and David Lee Roth.
Formed by brothers Eddie and Alex, Van Halen began their run on the charts in 1978 when their version of "You Really Got Me" peaked at #36. The band would score big with several other cover songs in 1982, including "(Oh) Pretty Woman" (#12) and "Dancing In The Street" (#38). By their 6th album with the charismatic frontman David Lee Roth, the band leapt to the top of the charts with 1984's "Jump." The single stayed their for 5 weeks and was followed by two more Top 40 hits that both peaked at #13: "I'll Wait" and "Panama." Whether the group would be able to sustain their run on the charts after Roth was replaced with Sammy Hagar (formerly of Montrose) in 1985 was a big question at the time. But they proved the doubters wrong as the band continued to score big hits with Hagar at the mic. "Why Can't This Be Love" flew to #3 in 1986, followed by "Dreams" and "Love Walks In," which both went to #22. Additional hits with Hagar followed until they parted ways in 1996 (his last chart appearance with the band came in 1995 when "Not Enough" stalled at #97). Van Halen could not strike gold a third time by replacing their lead singer once again, this time with Extreme's vocalist, Gary Cherone. Nothing from the single album done with Cherone in 1998 charted. But Van Halen wasn't done quite yet. A surprise reunion with Roth took place and one more album has been released to date, entitled "A Different Kind Of Truth." The lead single, "Tattoo," reached #67 in 2012. "Blood And Fire" is another cut from that album that deserved greater attention.
Sammy Hagar's career starts way back in 1973 when he became the lead singer for Montrose. He went solo in 1976 and released several albums before and after his time in Van Halen. Along the way, he also recorded as part of a supergroup called Hagar, Schon (Journey), Aaronson (Stories), and Shrieve (Santana) in 1984. In 1987, as his tenure with Van Halen started to take off into the stratosphere, Hagar released "I Never Said Goodbye," his ninth solo effort. The album's name derives from an MTV contest. It yielded hits like "Give To Live" (#23) and "Eagles Fly" (#82). "Back Into You" is another terrific AOR track that I thought would have performed well. His then buddy Eddie Van Halen even played bass and sang backing vocals on the record. Some extra trivia - what was Hagar's best chart performance as a solo artist? That was in 1982, when "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy" hit #13. Perhaps his better known classic, "I Can't Drive 55," went to #26 in 1984.
After the demise of Montrose, Ronnie Montrose formed a new band called Gamma. Still rocking, but with a dose of 80s synths now in the mix, Gamma hit the charts twice. The first was in 1980 with "I'm Alive" (#60) and the second was in 1982 with "Right The First Time" (#77). "I'm Alive" is always a fun and nostalgic listen, especially when that so 80s synthesized robot voice sings along.
