- Pasadena, California. Hard rock music was reborn with the release of the self-titled debut album from Van Halen. Guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen, along with his brother drummer Alex, Bassist Michael Anthony and flamboyant lead singer David Lee Roth, took hold of the airwaves and the stages across the world with awesome, energetic live shows that rocked. But amid all that success is a whole lot of weird and interesting things about the band. So, let’s take a deep dive into Van Halen…
- The band’s original name was Mammoth. They changed it after finding out another band had it first. It was Roth’s idea to use the name Van Halen; though, ironically, Eddie and Alex didn’t like it
- In 1977, Gene Simmons of KISS fame saw the band in concert. He liked them so much, he booked them for their first recording session. Simmons flew them to New York and bought them new clothes, but they still didn’t score a record deal. At the time, record companies were reluctant to sign Van Halen because disco was hot, and rock was not
- Years of jumping around on stage took its toll on Eddie. He had hip-replacement surgery in 1999. He also lost part of his tongue after being diagnosed with cancer in his throat and tongue
- On their 1979 tour, David Lee Roth gave each of the crew members some backstage passes. Those passes were to be given to “hot chicks.” If Roth got lucky that night, he gave the “winning roadie” $100 the next day
- Eddie and Alex were born and raised in the Dutch country of Holland. Their family moved to Pasadena in 1967 when the boys were young
- Roth was hyperactive as a child, and that behavior carried over to adulthood. Because Eddie had terrible stage fright, David Lee Roth did all the talking in interviews and on-stage
- Speaking of Eddie’s stage fright, he tried to qualm those fears using alcohol, which turned him in to a high-functioning alcoholic. He eventually got sober, but it took until 2006 to do it thanks to his new wife
- In 1982, David Lee Roth was firing zingers at fellow rocker Sammy Hagar in the press, telling Creem Magazine, “Sammy definitely has a social problem; I think it’s based on lack of education.” Ironically, of course, Sammy ended up replacing David Lee Roth as the new lead singer in 1985
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