Rock Biography #3: Van Halen

With the AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and Aerosmith dominated 1970s coming to a close, a band from Pasadena, California with a future guitar legend exploded onto the scene. We are, of course, talking about Van Halen. Singer David Lee Roth, bassist Michael Anthony, lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen released their self-titled debut album in 1978. It featured two of their biggest songs, 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love and 'Runnin' With The Devil.' It also contained a cover of the Kinks 'You Really Got Me.' But it was the song that led into that that really showcased Eddie Van Halen's talent and confirmed that the band was going to be around for a while. 'Eruption' featured all of Eddie's tricks. Tapping, shredding, dive bombs and speed picking were telling the guitarists of the 70s that there was a new kid on the block and he meant business.

   In 1979, Van Halen released the follow up to their 1978 debut. 'Van Halen II' went to #6 on the charts and solidified the band's position in the late 70s rock movement to a more distorted sound. By the early 1980s, Van Halen had become the biggest band in the world. The only thing bigger than Van Halen were AC/DC with their 1980 comeback album 'Back in Black.' But that's another story for a different day. Eddie Van Halen was blowing everyone away with his kickass guitar skills. The world hadn't seen anything like it before. But that was all about to change.

   In 1985, singer David Lee Roth left the band and cited musical differences with the rest of the band. The band picked up singer Sammy Hagar later in 1985 and continued on to release '5150.' '5150' contained more serious songs in terms of lyrical content, as the bands first albums were mainly centered around partying. It featured the hit song 'Why Can't This Be Love.' This album was regarded by many as Van Halen's last good album.

   The band continued with Sammy Hagar until 1995 when they had a falling out. Gary Cherone joined later in the year. The band released 'Van Halen III' in 1998 and the album flopped. Van Halen continued to struggle for success throughout the 2000s. They recently reunited with David Lee Roth in 2014 and did a reunion tour.