Frank Sinatra ‘Saved’ Sammy Hagar’s Life During a Fight

The Red Rocker owes his life to Ol’ Blue Eyes.

On Wednesday night, Sammy Hagar premiered his new Las Vegas residency show and recalled his first time traveling to Sin City in the late ‘60s, which included a chance meeting with Frank Sinatra.

“I had this little band, and we got in a van and we drove to Vegas. We thought we were gonna get a gig at one of these bars for something,” he said. “So I run into a guy and he goes, ‘You guys are pretty good.’ We auditioned. He goes, ‘I work for Frank Sinatra. Wanna come see him tonight?'”

Hagar immediately agreed, as he wasn’t about to miss that opportunity, noting that Sinatra was sipping a martini and smoking a cigarette during the brief meeting. Having been told that Hagar was an aspiring singer, Sinatra decided to invite the future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer onstage. 

“I’m there, and he does some weird song that I don’t know, and he called me up,” Hagar said from the Park MGM stage. “I don’t know the song — I was like 20 years old. I’m running around, I’m jumping on tables, going out in the audience, working it real hard, and Frank’s just watching me. He looks at his buddies, and they want to come get me off stage.”

Frank, though, let Hagar continue. Following the show, a youthful Hagar stood outside Sinatra’s dressing room hoping to score a second meeting, but when the “My Way” vocalist didn’t come out, the Red Rocker exited the showroom. 

“I’m walking out the back door, and these guys jump me, and they’re beating the s— out of me, working me hard. I’m thinking I’m dying,” Hagar said. “Frank walks out, opens the door [wags his finger] and says, ‘That’s enough.'”

The men stopped the beating immediately.

Sinatra, Hagar said, “Saved my f—ing life.”

On Wednesday, Hagar, now 77, let his set list do the punching, opening the show with the debut of his newest song, “Encore, Thank You, Goodnight,” a guitar-driven, poignant single about his relationship with the late Eddie Van Halen, which was released last week. 

Throughout the two-hour show, the former Van Halen singer made it a habit of stating the year each song was released, some of which were over four decades old. He previously promised that his The Best of All Worlds residency show would feature an “only in Vegas” setlist, and that was certainly the case. 

While he and the band played hits such as “Panama,” “I Can’t Drive 55” and “Why Can’t This Be Love,” Hagar also delved deep into his catalog, performing Van Halen’s “Amsterdam” for the first time since 2007, and “Love Walks In” for the first time since 1993 and “Humans Being” from the 1996 movie Twister. During “Right Now,” words and inspirational messages flashed on an oversized screen behind Hagar, including, “You’re missing the moment if you’re on your phone,” “Let’s all shift, happily to a higher frequency” and “This music is alive and well.” Kesha even made a surprise appearance, coming out on stage for “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love.”

Hagar posted a video with Kesha, 38, on his Instagram page after the show, joking that his wife of 29 years, Kari, “even lets me love this girl.” Of Kesha, he added, “She’s my favorite.”

Last November, Hagar told PEOPLE that he and bassist Michael Anthony often imbibe before taking the stage as a pre-show ritual. At the opening night of the residency, though, they happily tippled on stage during the show in full view of the crowd. Naturally, Hagar drank Santos tequila, the spirit brand he owns with Guy Fieri, while Anthony sucked down a mini bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

“Mike and I start drinking 20 minutes before every show. We start drinking little tequila, just sipping,” Hagar told PEOPLE last year. “There’s a certain time when you get a buzz. We try to go out on that high because it makes you a little bit looser and it’s more fun. I can’t explain it, but it really helps not walking out cold.”

The Best of All Worlds residency show continues May 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 17.