There's Only One Way To Rock

Album: Standing Hampton (1981)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Rock comes in many forms - hard, soft, punk, folk, Christian and alt to name just a few. But according to Sammy Hagar, there's really just one way to rock: with all the passion of your being. In that way, Air Supply (soft) is just like Guns N' Roses (hard), although we get the feeling Sammy is partial to the louder and faster forms of rock.

    The song is a celebration of music and of life itself.
  • Released in 1981, "There's Only One Way To Rock" came in the midst of Sammy Hagar's solo career after he left the group Montrose (1975) and when he joined Van Halen (1985). It's one of his most popular songs and a live favorite, but it wasn't sold as a single so it didn't chart on the Hot 100. Many radio stations played the song though, and it helped drum up interest for his album Standing Hampton, which went Platinum.
  • We can thank Hagar for popularizing the phrase "mental masturbation" in the lyric:

    And you can analyze this situation
    To me it's all just mental masturbation


    Hagar has always been much more of a doer than a thinker, although in his later years he released some very introspective songs, including "Eagles Fly" and "Deeper Kinda Love."
  • "There's Only One Way To Rock" often showed up in Van Halen's setlists when Hagar fronted the band. Many fans feel the definitive version of the song is a Van Halen live recording from New Haven, Connecticut (New Halen!), which appears on their Live Without A Net album. The show's opening was a veritable explosion with Hagar - no mean guitarist himself - sharing the lead with Edward Van Halen. For many fans, this is indeed the only way to rock, and the only way to start a Van Halen concert. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.