Van Halen

Van Halen, American heavy metal band distinguished by the innovative electric-guitar playing of Eddie Van Halen. The original members were guitarist Eddie Van Halen (b. January 26, 1955, Amsterdam, Netherlands—d. October 6, 2020, Santa Monica, California, U.S.), drummer Alex Van Halen (b. May 8, 1953, Amsterdam, Netherlands), bassist Michael Anthony (b. June 20, 1955, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), and lead singer David Lee Roth (b. October 10, 1955, Bloomington, Indiana). Later members were Sammy Hagar (b. October 13, 1947, Monterey, California), Gary Cherone (b. July 26, 1961, Malden, Massachusetts), and Wolfgang Van Halen (b. March 16, 1991, Santa Monica, California).

Exposed to music early by their father, a jazz musician, and classically trained, Eddie and Alex Van Halen turned to rock music soon after their family emigrated from the Netherlands to southern California in the 1960s. In time Eddie, a drummer, and Alex, a guitarist, switched instruments. A demo financed by Gene Simmons of Kiss led to their band’s critically acclaimed debut album, Van Halen (1978), which eventually sold more than 10 million copies in the United States alone. Featuring the hits “Jump” and “Panama,” 1984 (1984) made megastars of the Los Angeles-based band. Soon after, flamboyant lead singer Roth left Van Halen to pursue a solo career. With his replacement, Hagar, the band produced three chart-topping albums between 1986 and 1991, culminating in the Grammy Award-winning For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991). Hagar departed in 1996, and Roth returned briefly but was replaced by former Extreme lead singer Gary Cherone.

Cherone was greeted with dismal album sales and lukewarm fan response, and he left the group in 1999. The band drifted without a singer for three years, and rumours circulated about possible replacements. Meanwhile, Roth and Hagar shared headlining duties on a 2002 tour that featured each singer’s solo material, as well as selections from both Van Halen eras. Quick to capitalize on the interest generated by the unlikely pairing of the two former frontmen, Van Halen released the greatest hits collection The Best of Both Worlds (2004) and recruited Hagar for a North American tour. In 2006 Anthony left the band and was replaced on bass by Eddie’s teenage son Wolfgang. The following year, with Roth once again filling in as lead singer, the group embarked on its most successful tour. A Different Kind of Truth, Van Halen’s first collection of new material in more than a decade, surfaced in 2012. The band’s second live album—and the first with Roth as frontman—was Tokyo Dome Live in Concert (2015).

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Throughout the band’s frequent lineup changes what endured was Eddie’s virtuoso technique—notably his masterful use of the “whammy” (vibrato) bar and string bending and his adaptation of baroque music stylings—which influenced countless heavy metal guitarists in the 1980s. In 2007 Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.