A 36-year veteran music columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, Joel Selvin has written about rock royalty for most of his life. After fielding a call from former Van Halen frontman and tequila magnate Sammy Hagar, he got the chance to help one with his memoirs.

The results struck gold. Released last month, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, drove to number one its first week on the New York Times Best Seller list, and it’s currently in the top five. In this exclusive interview, Selvin reflects on his relationship with Sammy through the years, why the third attempt at telling his life story was the charm, and which legends he’d like to write with next.

Red went to number one in its first week of release, the first for a musician in quite a while aside from Keith Richards. What do you attribute this to?

People like Sam.

Professional rock critics like yourself have panned Sammy throughout his career, and the whole hard rock/metal genre has been savaged at times, too. What was the turning point when you had a change of opinion about him? Do you regret anything you wrote in your earlier reviews or do you stand by it all?

Are those my only two choices?

Former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony contributes a very candid foreword to the book, touching upon his own ejection from the band. How was he tapped for this?

I thought it was a good idea and Sammy asked him to do it.

Take us through the creation of this book as a co-writer. How much time did you spend with Sammy each week? Did you have a manuscript that he’d written in basic form? What were the key points that you wanted to outline?

Sammy was brilliant at this. He kept the entire narrative structure in his head and spilled it out in two-hour sessions, three times a week. The book was done in five months, although I didn’t do much else during the entire time. Tough to keep up with Sam.

Were there any other celebrity or music memoirs that the book was modeled after or influenced by?

I like them all. I like film stars, baseball players and especially musicians. It is easy to like the Dylan, but I even loved the Neil Sedaka.

Have you read David Lee Roth’s 1997 memoir, Crazy from the Heat? Did that play any part in how you did or didn’t want to approach telling Sammy’s story?

I read ‘em all, but Sammy isn’t very interested in David Lee. I referred to a Van Halen biography, Everybody Wants Some, from time to time.

What are some of the more revealing and outrageous things you learned as a result of your involvement with the book?

Everything is in the book. The stuff we left out was not revealing or interesting, which is why we left it out.

There wasn't too much in the book about Sammy's bandmates or stories about touring during the Capitol Records years other than the few off the Red album. Was there any discussion of writing about the years after that album (1978-1981) and band members like Gary Pihl and Chuck Ruff?

Didn’t come up much. The focus was Sam’s narrative.

What about the disagreement that led to keyboardist Jesse Harms’ departure from Sammy’s backing band the Wabos in 2003?

That was mentioned only briefly. I think Sam called it a “head butt.”

Sammy has an all-American reputation, but did his “Red Rocker” nickname ever cause any problems with anti-communist groups?

Great question.

For the uninitiated, why is Sammy so huge in St. Louis?

Beyond reason, but once that town adopts you, you are adopted. The “Red” thing is big in St. Louis. [It] was an early market for Sam. Hard to quantify, but it’s real—they love Sammy in St. Louis.

If you were asked in 1983 to co-author Sammy's autobiography, what would your answer have been?

Sammy called and asked in 1998. I gave it some thought and was flattered that he called me, but I didn’t think there was enough of a narrative arc at the time to support a book. I called him in ’09 and told him I thought the time had come. I’m glad he agreed.

In the book, Sammy says that Van Halen producer Ted Templeman badmouthed the group after their split with David Lee Roth, deserting them to work with Roth. What kinds of things was he saying about them?

Probably nothing that isn’t obvious—Ted undoubtedly knew that without forceful leadership, the Van Halen guys were unlikely to produce.

In your opinion, what were Dave’s greatest strengths and weaknesses as a member of Van Halen? How about Sammy’s?

No comment on Dave—no knowledge. Sammy obviously drove that band to some very fine musical and commercial peaks.

About how many fans do you think called your home when Sammy gave out your phone number to his audience in 1986 after you wrote an uncharitable review of his performance with Van Halen? 

It went on for weeks.

Even in the book, it’s still unclear as to whether Sammy was fired from Van Halen or left on his own accord in 1996. What’s the truth?

Funny word, truth. Sammy has his story. The Van Halens have theirs. Nobody seems to have the whole story. Ever see Rashomon?

In the book, Sammy expresses respect for Gary Cherone, his replacement in Van Halen, but says that Cherone was wrong for the band “a hundred times over.” Can you elaborate on this?

I believe Sammy thought he was too mannered and cultivated a vocalist for the Van Halen sound.

One milestone that Sammy’s always stood by—and it appears again in Red—that I’ve always been confused by is his insistence that he sold more records with Van Halen than David Lee Roth, but an RIAA search reveals that, as of 2004, Roth’s era of recordings has outsold Sammy’s by a nearly 2:1 margin, 34 million vs. 18 million. Where is Sammy getting his data from?

I’m not informed on the sales issues.

You’ve talked before about The Long Road to Cabo, Sammy’s previous attempt to tell his story with another writer. I understand that even before that, Sammy had worked on a previous book called Red Storm Arising that he personally scrapped himself prior to its release. Since he certainly didn't shy away from hot button topics in Red, do you know what the objectionable content might have been the first time around?

Never saw that book. Saw the other one. Sammy’s story wasn’t ready for telling.

In the book, Sammy really opens up on his relationship with his father, drugs, and infidelities with his first wife. Was there any concern about any of this being too sensitive?

Sammy was very loving and sympathetic in talking about his first wife, I thought.

Were there any other stories too raw for inclusion in the book?

Are you kidding?

Sammy also reveals a keen mind for business, opening celebrated bicycle shops, a travel agency, and of course his south of the border-themed tequila brand and restaurants. Do you think Jimmy Buffett had more of an influence on him with the latter two than Sammy lets on in the book? Do you know if he’s ever heard from Buffett about this?

Jimmy Buffett wishes he thought of the tequila first.

Since co-writing this book was a huge success, who would you want to work with next on a similar project if you could choose anyone?

Anyone? Groucho Marx or Mark Twain.

What’s next for Joel Selvin?

Dinner with my ex-wife tonight; dentist appointment in the morning.

Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock is in stores now. For more information, visit www.redrocker.com/red. Visit Joel’s homepage at www.joelselvin.com.

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