VAN HALEN - RIGHT NOW

Released: February 1992

Charts: US: #55 

Released in 1992 on “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”, “Right Now” stands as one of the most ambitious and socially conscious songs of the Sammy Hagar era of Van Halen. At a time when global politics were shifting — the Berlin Wall had fallen, the Cold War was ending, and the world was waking up to new realities — the band that had built its reputation on excess and hedonism suddenly had something serious to say.

The song’s roots go back nearly a decade earlier. Eddie Van Halen first composed the piano-driven instrumental in 1983, “before I even wrote ‘Jump,’” he later explained. “Nobody wanted anything to do with it.” A variation of the melody appeared in “The Wild Life” (1984), a coming-of-age film Eddie scored. At one point, he even envisioned recording it with Joe Cocker, as part of a possible collaborative project featuring guest vocalists. But the piece remained shelved — until Sammy Hagar came along.

When Van Halen began recording “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” in 1991, Eddie revived the piano riff. Hagar, by then eager to move beyond songs about sex, cars, and parties, seized on it as the perfect vehicle for a lyric about living in the moment. “I was tired of writing cheap sex songs,” Hagar later said. “Eddie and I wanted to get serious and talk about world issues.” The phrase “Right Now” became both the song’s title and its driving concept — a reminder to act, to change, to feel now.

“Right Now” captured a new maturity for Van Halen. It traded swagger for urgency, the usual sexual bravado for a message about awareness and presence. Yet it never lost the band’s trademark power — Eddie’s piano lines are commanding, his guitar tone sharp and luminous, and Hagar’s vocals deliver conviction without sacrificing melody.

The music video, directed by Mark Fenske and Josh Taft, became as iconic as the song itself. Against stark, minimalist visuals, a stream of on-screen text delivered blunt, thought-provoking statements: “Right now, oil companies and old men are in control.” “Right now, someone is working too hard for minimum wage.” The effect was both immediate and profound — turning a rock video into a moral mirror.

Hagar, however, hated the idea at first. “I wrote the best lyric I’d ever written for Van Halen, and they wanted to put different words underneath? I thought it was going to distract from the message,” he recalled. After retreating to South Carolina and ignoring calls from the band, he was eventually persuaded to go through with it by Warner Bros. chairman Mo Ostin. Ironically, during the video shoot, Hagar came down with pneumonia — his irritated demeanor is visible on camera. “Look at my face,” he later said. “I’m just standing there with my arms crossed. I wouldn’t even cooperate”, but the finished product was a triumph. The “Right Now” video swept the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, winning Best Video, Best Editing, and Best Direction.