Van Halen

In the late 1970s and on into the 1980s, E. Van Halen’s virtual re-invention of the guitar and D. Lee Roth’s horny circus performer stage presence were the core of one of Hard Rock’s most enduring bands. Eddie’s older brother Alex’s shimmering hi-hat attack has always been as much a trademark of their shiny, sexy sound as Eddie’s hammer-on-crazy solos (that essentially introduced the phrases “ribboning leads” and “guitar pyrotechnics” into the rock vernacular).

Van Halen video

The Van Halen Press Conference on Monday 8-13-2007 with Eddie Van Halen on Guitar, David Lee Roth on Vocals, Wolfgang Van Halen on Bass and Alex Van Halen on Drums.

Van Halen history

From their self-titled 1978 debut to the chart-smashing, band-wrecking 1984, each of their records with David Lee Roth contains at least one Classic Rock gem, if not an entire side of them. The band’s early era was topped off with Fair Warning (’81) (an uncharacteristically dark record that, through blazing songs of pure, unyielding rock power, reflects the growing tensions between Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth at the time. Those same tensions eventually led to a much-debated switch to frizzy-haired “Red Rocker” S. Hagar in ‘85. While the Sammy Hagar years still featured dynamic playing, the dreaded power ballad became a staple of their new, more mature demeanor. Nevertheless, Van Halen continued to sell an unholy number of records on through the middle 1990s, and you practically had to kill yourself in order to avoid hearing their cloying soft drink anthem “Right Now.” After further upheaval led to the departure of even Sammy Hagar’s replacement Gary Cherone, rumors flew that the unfortunately named Bruce Cockburn would take over next.
(Mike Mc Guirk)