1983 Sammy Hagar – Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy
Sammy Hagar played guitar and sang in a series of bands before finally concentrating on a solo career in 1976. He signed with Capitol Records, and they assigned him to work with A&R/producer Carter. While some limited success came with the label, Carter’s insistence that he record covers and aim for the pop charts left Sammy displeased. Having his cover of (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay reach #65 on the Hot 100 in 1979 was little consolation.
Sammy produced two of his albums himself, but none of the singles from either one found their way onto any charts. He blamed Capitol for not supporting him properly.
David Geffen formed Geffen Records in 1980 and Sammy quickly signed with the label in hopes of recording music closer to the kind of heavy metal he had played before signing with Capitol. In 1981, Keith Olsen produced Sammy’s next album, Standing Hampton, and it became his best-selling solo album to date.
The lead single from the album, I’ll Fall In Love Again, even reached #2 on the US Mainstream Rock chart but stalled at #43 on the Hot 100.
Sammy’s again worked with Keith on his second album for Geffen, and the first single became his highest-charting single on the pop charts. Sammy wrote Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy, which reached #13 on the Hot 100 in 1983. It also reached #3 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.
Three more of his singles reached the top ten on the US Mainstream Rock chart in the next year. Only two of his follow-up solo singles reached the Top Forty, and both of them stalled in the twenties.
Things might have gone differently if Sammy had continued his solo career, but something even better awaited him. In 1985, he joined Van Halen and the band began its most successful era during the next decade.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Hagar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Hagar_discography#Singles_2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Love_Is_Driving_Me_Crazy
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