Song · Sammy Hagar
“Heavy Metal” by Sammy Hagar
From the album Standing Hampton (1981)
“Heavy Metal” by Sammy Hagar appears on 17 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1990 and 2025. It was first released in 1981 on the album Standing Hampton. Its best result is #22 on the KISW 25 Greatest Soundtrack Songs in Rock. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,598 classic rock song of all time.
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Sammy Hagar and Jim Peterik wrote "Heavy Metal", and it landed on Standing Hampton, Hagar's sixth studio album and his first for Geffen after leaving Capitol. Hagar sings it and plays guitar, with Bill Church on bass, and the production came from Roy Thomas Baker and Keith Olsen, with Olsen and Chris Minto engineering. The title doubles as a mission statement.
The album gave Hagar a real foothold: it was the first record of his to be certified by the RIAA, and it went platinum in the end, with five singles reaching the rock or pop charts. He had meant to call it One Way to Rock until a British fan clued him in to a bit of Cockney rhyming slang, and the cheeky title, and the cover to match, stuck.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 204 | Z-Rock | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) | 1000 |
| 1994 | 236 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) | 1000 |
| 1995 | 173 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) | 1000 |
| 1996 | 223 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) | 1000 |
| 1998 | 328 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) | 1000 |
| 1999 | 302 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) | 998 |
| 2002 | 683 | KISW | KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) | 999 |
| 2010 | 262 | 97.9 The Loop | The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) | 500 |
| 2012 | 1190 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2016 | 899 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 | 1007 |
| 2021 | 22 | KISW | KISW 25 Greatest Soundtrack Songs in Rock | 25 |
| 2022 | 316 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2023 | 973 | 101.5 WPDH | WPDH Top 1015 (2023) | 1015 |
| 2023 | 169 | KSHE 95 | KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2023 | 416 | Qfm96 | Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2024 | 418 | Qfm96 | Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) | 498 |
| 2025 | 424 | Qfm96 | Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) | 498 |
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