Van Halen Biography

Van Halen

rock group

In the early 1970s, in Pasadena, California, guitarist Eddie Van Halen and his brother Alex Van Halen, a drummer, formed the group Mammoth with vocalist David Lee Roth and bass player Michael Anthony. They changed their name to Van Halen, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1978. Other records include Diver Down (1982), 1984 (1984), which contained the number-one single “Jump,” 5150 (1986), their first number-one album, and Balance (1995). Roth was fired in 1986 and replaced by Sammy Hagar, who was in turn replaced by Gary Cherone in 1996.

Eddie Van Halen

(Edward Van Halen)
guitarist
Born: 1/26/1955
Birthplace: Nijmegen, Netherlands

Eddie Van Halen moved to Pasadena in 1967. After Van Halen's debut album release in 1978, he was named as Best New Guitarist of The Year by Guitar Player magazine. He is married to actress Valerie Bertinelli.

Alex Van Halen

drummer
Born: 5/8/1953
Birthplace: Nijmegen, Netherlands

David Lee Roth

singer
Born: 10/10/1955
Birthplace: Bloomington, Indiana

One of the original members of Van Halen, Roth left the band in 1986 to pursue a solo career. He recorded two songs with Van Halen in 1996 but rumors of a permanent return were soon proven false.

Michael Anthony

bass player
Born: 6/20/1955
Birthplace: Chicago

Sammy Hagar

singer
Born: 10/13/1947
Birthplace: Monterey, California

Hagar joined Van Halen as lead vocalist in 1986, replacing Roth. He had previously been lead vocalist for Montrose. He left Van Halen in 1996.

Gary Cherone

singer
Born: 7/26/1961
Birthplace: Malden, Massachusetts

Former lead singer of Extreme (1985–96), Cherone joined Van Halen in 1996 as lead vocalist.


Dick Van DykeU-VMelvin Van Peebles
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