So sad: Van Halen officially announce his divorce

BRISTOW, Va. – “Never say never, right?” says Sammy Hagar, who’s beaming a huge grin as guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani plays the opening notes to “Panama,” a song released 40 years ago by Van Halen, when it was fronted by David Lee Roth.

In the years after Roth left the band in 1985, some Van Halen diehards thought they might never hear that song from the band’s multiplatinum album “1984” in a live setting. But it’s ringing out loudly on Hagar’s The Best of All Worlds Tour this summer.

The tour’s name plays off the title of the song “Best of Both Worlds,” on Van Halen’s “5150” album from 1986 when Hagar fronted the band. It’s also the title of a 2004 Van Halen greatest hits collection with songs from the Hagar and Roth eras.