more on Ray daniels.
Ed Lefler died in 1993, I believe right after the end of the Right Here Right Now World Tour. Van Halen had released 3 straight number one cd's with Sammy and a top 5 double platnium live album. things get really fucked up at this point. Sam was getting a divorce and his wife at the time wanted half of everything he had. About that time Geffen records approached Sam to do a greatest hits of his geffen era stuff. Sam agreed to record 2 new songs for 500,000 which he used to pay his wife off, she agreed to a lump sum payement-I think it was 500,000, I'd have to go back and reread a bunch of interviews so if the number is wrong, sue me. you get the point.
Anyway Sam records High Hopes and Buying My Way Into Heaven for his Unboxed collection. Supposedly Ed and Al had a big problem with this and thought Hagar was either testing the waters to be a solo artist or he was making money behind the bands back. The band was also looking at new management and a bunch of big name managers were in the mix. The guy that managed aerosmith was one of sammy's choices. Sam figured a VH-Aerosmith combo would be unbeatable, they were 2 of the top acts in hard rock at the time. Something happened that freaked that guy out and he pulled out of the running-I think Ed flipped out and shaved his head while the guy was with him-remember Ed had short hair for Balance. Then Ed and Al started pushing Daniels, Sam had heard horror stories about the guy. People at MTV didn't like him and I believe Ed lefler even told Sam don't let that guy manage you guys if I go. they fought about it for a little while and Ed and Al won. Ray rewrote stuff on thier contract so he started getting royalties for all the stuff VH had done.....he got royalties for stuff he had nothing to do with. REmember in 95 all these "vintage" vh shirts started showing up?
anyway the band starts recording Balance and there were alot of problems, Sam had his publishing done seperatly so Ray Daniels wouldn't get any share of his money.
VH releases balance and does a world tour, huge in the US but played second fiddle to Bon Jovi in Europe. The tour is very long and hard ont he band. Alex ends up having neck problems-if you see the PPV special they did you can see him wearing a neck brace. Ed's hip is trashed and he's "sober" for the first time on tour. Sam is sick for alot of the tour. For the first time the band travels seprerate and has seperate dressing rooms, sam and mike in one and ed and al in another. Videos get no airplay on MTV...
the tour ended and the band was supposed to take a break so Ed coudl get a hip replacement and Al coudl let his neck heal. Sam got remarried and got his new wife pregnant somewhere in there.....
anyway Sam gets a call that the band wants to do 2 songs for the movei Twister. They record 2 songs, actually 3...humans being-which was originally recorded as The Silent Extreme and another song called Between Us Two. Ed didn't like Sam's lyrics for between us two and told him if he didn't resing them he'd consider Sam out of the band. Sam flew in-he was in hawaii with his wife who was 8 months pregnant with a breech baby and re did them. Then he found out that Between Us Two was being pulled off of Twister for a greatest hits CD......
anyway Ed then called up Sammy on Fathers day of 1996 and depending on who you believe fired sam or sam quit, sam says ed was drunk off his ass....I believe SAm
that's a very condesned version and Ray had alot to do with the downfall of VH....it would take me days to type out everything that i know about this stuff..or that I've read and believe to be true, Mike anthony confirmed some stuff earlier this year in a japaneese interview..