What can I say.  Incredible band.  These guys endure as my favorite band.  The core of Eddie and Alex Van Halen, the band's namesakes, are dutch by birth and were originally trained as concert pianists.  They moved to the US, to Los Angeles, and  quickly picked up rock.  Alex began with guitar and Eddie with drums, but by 1974 they had switched and formed a band, Mammoth, along with vocalist David Lee Roth, diagnosed hyperactive since age six, and bassist Michael Anthony, whom they snatched from a rival band.  They became an instant hit on the LA club scene and in 1977, having changed their name to Van Halen, they were discovered by Warner Bros. chairman Mo Ostin and producer Ted Templeton.  Templeton financed a demo tape and, in 1978, signed them.  Their first album, "Van Halen," followed quickly and was the first of three straight multi-platinum records for the new sensation.  Their first top 20 hit was "Dance the Night Away" and Eddie was Guitar Player Magazine's guitarist on the year from 1979-1984.  They were the talk of the concert scene throughout the early '80s.  They got their start by stealing the show as an opening act for Journey, Montrose, and Black Sabbath, including one performance in which they parachuted onto stage.  They then beagn a series of their own mega-tours, promoting each one of their albums.  The band put out six albums, culminating in "1984", before a conflict of egos between Eddie and Dave resulted in Dave getting the boot.  Enter Sammy Hagar as the new vocalist.  The band didn't slow down.  The new quartet produced four more albums together, picking up were "1984" left off with the release of "5150," showing that the loss of Roth hadn't phased them.  In 1996, the band released its greatest hits, "The Best of Van Halen, Volume 1," including two brand new cuts with Roth on vocals.  This album was not without consequence, however.  Hagar had wanted to continue with new music.  Shortly after, his wife became pregnant, and he wanted to be with her.  As he lived in Hawaii, he didn't want to shuttle back and forth to Eddie's 5150 studios in LA.  Hagar decided to leave the band and resume his solo career.  Continuing on, the band picked up Gary Cherone from Extreme and released "Van Halen III" in 1998.  It was a good album, but represented a substantial stylistic change and was not quite up to Van Halen Standards.

Discography:
"Van Halen" (1978)                                 "Van Halen II" (1979)

"Women and Children First" (1980)           "Fair Warning" (1981)

"Diver Down" (1982)                               "1984" (1983)

"5150" (1986)                                          "OU812" (1988)

"For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" (1991) "Balance" (1995)

"The Best of Van Halen, Volume 1" (1996)                            "Van Halen III" (1998)

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