Chart Week: January 15, 1983
\nSong: \u201cYour Love Is Driving Me Crazy\u201d – Sammy Hagar
\nChart Position: #27, 6th week on the chart. Peaked at #13 for two weeks in February\/March.<\/p>\n
One of the disappointments of the iHeart Radio Classic American Top 40 channel is that only so many of the old countdowns have been digitized and, thus, countdowns are often repeated. Sometimes I\u2019ll hear the same one twice in a week or so. Which bums me out, as there are so many countdowns from the nearly 20 years Casey did them and we only get to hear a handful.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never paid that close attention to the countdowns that are played on our local station each weekend. Last weekend, though, I heard a countdown I know I heard a year ago. So, apparently, there is a limited pool that has been syndicated as well. Double bummer.<\/p>\n
I know I heard this countdown a year ago because in January 2019 I wrote down an anecdote Casey shared about Sammy Hagar but never got around to sharing it with you. Hearing it again last Sunday is an obvious sign from the Music Gods that I should share it now.<\/p>\n
Casey began by telling his listeners of Sammy\u2019s love for fast cars. Sammy owned a Porsche, a Trans Am, and even a Ferrari. One night after a show in San Francisco he was driving to his home north of the city in his BMW. As he drove, he got more anxious about getting home, so he drove faster and faster. Soon he was traveling way beyond the speed limit. \u201cIt was a crazy thing to do, and I knew it,\u201d Casey quoted Sammy.<\/p>\n
Moments later, Sammy saw red and blue lights of the California High Patrol in his rearview mirror. \u201cI\u2019ve never been so scared in my life,\u201d said Sammy.<\/p>\n
It turned out that the officer who pulled Sammy over had a young son who was a music fan. He asked his dad to keep an eye out for Sammy in his bright red Trans Am, and if he ever saw him, to get his autograph. The officer called in Sammy\u2019s license, learned it was the Red Rocker at the wheel, and when he reached Sammy\u2019s window said, \u201cHey, buddy, where\u2019s your Trans AM?\u201d He also told Sammy that he could take him to jail he was driving so fast.<\/p>\n
The two men had a conversation, Sammy swore to be more careful, and signed an autograph for the officer\u2019s son. \u201cTo Don,\u201d it read, \u201cyour dad\u2019s ok.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Sammy has been watching the speed limit ever since,\u201d Casey closed before playing Hagar\u2019s latest hit.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure this story, if I heard it back when I was 11, delighted me. But now all I hear is bullshit.<\/p>\n
Sammy was just anxious to get home, that\u2019s why he was speeding? More like it was late, the roads were wide open, and he decided to have some fun.<\/p>\n
I also find it hard to believe Sammy\u2019s blood was clean of any stimulants or depressants.<\/p>\n
Being that scared implies he had never been pulled over before. I scoff at this, as well.<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s been sticking to the speed limit ever since? The ultimate bullshit. We were a little over a year from Sammy hitting the charts with \u201cI Can\u2019t Drive 55.\u201d<\/p>\n
Classic record label A&R PR bullshit.<\/p>\n
I will confirm that the CHP could be extremely friendly back in the \u201880s. My family moved to the Bay Area in late 1986. My stepdad had been out there for a few months, commuting every Sunday and Thursday night. He took possession of our new home in mid-December and my mom and I flew out on the Saturday before Christmas. Our flight was late, our bags didn\u2019t make it, and SFO was a madhouse. By the time we left the airport my stepdad was good and pissed. We got off the San Mateo bridge, turned north on I–880, and headed to our new home. Anxious to get home, he kept driving faster and faster. Soon he saw red and blue lights in the rearview mirror and pulled over.<\/p>\n
When the officer approached he said he had my stepdad going 70 from the moment he got off the bridge. That was apparently very fast in 1986. My stepdad handed over his Missouri driver\u2019s license with a sheepish look on his face.<\/p>\n
The officer took a look and exclaimed, \u201cRaytown, Missouri?!? I grew up there. Slow it down,\u201d and he handed the license back and sent us on our way.<\/p>\n
Believe it or not, this was Sammy\u2019s biggest solo hit. Here is the rather odd official video for the song. I say odd because for the first minute or so we never see Sammy\u2019s face. Until we saw he was actually singing I thought that was a choice to hide how they were playing the album track over live video to make it sound better. But Sammy was a decent singer and turns out the audio is the live track.<\/p>\n