See Sammy Hagar Join Kenny Chesney for Rowdy ‘I Can’t Drive 55’
Kenny Chesney and rocker Sammy Hagar share a love of island living (as well as the drinks that accompany it) and wrote the song “One Sip” together for the former Van Halen singer’s 2006 album Livin’ It Up. Since then, the friends have toured together and made frequent appearances at one another’s shows. On Saturday, August 6th, they reunited midway through Chesney’s set at Levi’s Stadium near San Francisco to sing Hagar’s classic “I Can’t Drive 55.”
After high-fives and greetings, the band strikes up with the familiar opening riffs from Hagar’s 1984 smash. Chesney hands the former Van Halen singer a cup, and Hagar salutes the crowd with a “Cheers!” The pair belts out all the lines together, exuding an infectious joy throughout the loose cover. The audio from the above video isn’t perfect in a couple spots, but the fun comes through loud and clear.
“I couldn’t believe hearing 50,000 people scream ’55’ at the top of their lungs!” wrote Hagar on his website. “Certainly one of the highlights of my year musically so far!”
This stop of the Spread the Love tour also included Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt and Old Dominion, who will all support Chesney on August 13th when the tour hits Ford Field in Detroit. Chesney also recently released “Setting the World on Fire,” a duet with pop superstar Pink that will appear on his forthcoming album Cosmic Hallelujah, due October 28th.