Van Halen

Van Halen -- guitarist Eddie Van Halen, his brother Alex on drums, bassist Michael Anthony and singer David Lee Roth (clockwise from bottom right) -- formed in Pasadena, California, in 1974 as Mammoth. Roth suggested they change the band moniker to Eddie and Alex's surname.

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Initially, Alex Van Halen was the guitarist in the family, and younger brother Eddie first started out playing the drums. Fortuitously, the pair wound up swapping instruments. However, the Van Halen brothers both began their musical careers playing classical piano in their native Holland, from where they emigrated to California at ages 14 and 12, respectively.

Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth were one of the most inseparable duos of the era. Eddie is an acknowledged virtuoso on his instrument and constantly shows up on greatest guitarist polls. And while Roth is perhaps not as virtuosic on his instrument, he is the consummate showman who never fails to command a live audience.

The David Lee Roth era of Van Halen was insanely popular with fans and was even greeted warmly by many critics. From early songs like 'Running With the Devil' and their cover of the Kinks' 'You Really Got Me' in 1978 to later MTV-generation smashes like 'Jump' and 'Hot for Teacher' in 1984, the band's trajectory was as high as Diamond Dave's kicks.

In 1985, while still in Van Halen, Roth achieved solo success with 'Crazy From the Heat.' The EP featured versions of the Beach Boys' 'California Girls' and Louis Prima' 'Just a Gigolo' -- both of which were chart hits and MTV favorites. Roth's solo smashes contributed to a schism in the group, which led to him leaving Van Halen -- either voluntarily or otherwise -- later that year.

Roth's replacement was the "Red Rocker," Sammy Hagar, former singer and guitarist for metalers Montrose, and a successful solo act with songs like 'I Can't Drive 55.' "Van Hagar," which lasted from 1985 to 1996, sustained the band's upward momentum. Most fans embraced the more pop-oriented sound of songs like 'Why Can't This Be Love?,' making 1986's '5150' Van Halen's first No. 1 album.

In 1997, following the departure of Hagar the year before and a brief reunion with Roth, Van Halen recruited their third lead singer, former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone. While this lineup was met by diehard fans with even more scorn than the Sammy Hagar incarnation, it was just as successful as the other two from a sales standpoint, lasting for two years.

In recent years, Eddie and Alex Van Halen have been relatively dormant, not releasing any Van Halen tracks from 2000 through 2004, finally breaking the dry spell with three new song for a greatest hits collection, with Hagar on lead vocals. During that period, Eddie has been battling tongue and mouth cancer, and he also split up with his wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli

Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, who both departed Van Halen after a reunion tour in 2004, often appear together in Hagar's band the Waboritas and are currently working on a project with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. Hagar has also reinvented himself as a succesful entrepreneur, running his Cabo Wabo nightclub in the Mexican resort town of Cabo San Lucas.

In 2002, David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar joined forces as "Sans-Halen" for the 'Song For Song, the Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll' tour. In recent months, the Van Halen brothers, with Eddie's son Wolfgang subbing for Anthony on bass, have attempted to work out a reunion with Roth for a proposed summer tour, so far unsuccessfully.

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