Songfacts®:

• You don't usually get a great rock song out of a dream. Most of us wake up, maybe mumble something about our teeth falling out or being chased by ducks, and go back to sleep. But Sammy Hagar isn't most people. When the Red Rocker woke up from a vivid dream featuring his late Van Halen bandmate Eddie Van Halen, what followed was "Encore, Thank You, Goodnight," a thunderous, heartfelt goodbye set to power chords.
• In his dream, Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen reunited, played music together, and collaborated on a song.
  
  "He had a guitar around his neck," Hagar told Rolling Stone. "We were having a love fest since we hadn't seen each other in a long time. And he just started playing this riff, and I started singing."
  
  Hagar, still half-asleep, scrambled for a pencil and his iPhone. "My wife's screaming, 'What are you doing?'" he recalled. "I said, 'Writing a song!'" By morning, he had chords. And a mission.
  
  "'Encore, Thank You, Goodnight' is my final bow to that part of my life," Hagar said. "It's not meant to be anything more than a thank-you - with love, with respect, and with one hell of a guitar solo."
• The track opens with a 30-second guitar intro that nods to "Eruption," one of Eddie Van Halen's showcase songs with Van Halen. From there, it barrels into a muscular, riff-heavy tribute to Eddie Van Halen full of affection and nostalgia.
• The title, "Encore, Thank You, Goodnight," is a classic showbiz closer, capturing Hagar's intent: one last bow to his Van Halen years.
• Hagar assembled an all-star cast for the track:
  
  Joe Satriani on guitar. The guitar legend also co-wrote the track.
  
  Michael Anthony on bass. Another Van Halen alumnus. He played with Hagar in the supergroups Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar And The Circle.
  
  Kenny Aronoff on drums. The guitar icon has played with everyone from John Mellencamp to Smashing Pumpkins.
• Hagar premiered the track on April 30, 2025, as part of the launch for his Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM.