Undoubtedly, the death of this giant of rock music has caused great misery among those who followed him and those closest to him.
Eddie Van Halen founded the group Van Halen in 1972 with his brother Alex and David Lee Roth as the vocalist and was also the main composer of their first album, which launched the group to fame in the 80s, a decade in which they became the hard rock band with the most songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Since then, the band has released 12 studio albums and sold more than 80 million records around the world. Popular songs like ‘Jump’ are part of his discography.
California has always been a true factory of good music. For the youngest, names like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool, or Green Day will come to mind. But long before all of them came Van Halen, one of the best bands in rock history. There, in Pasadena, virtuoso guitarist Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and Mark Stone got together to found Mammoth. Sometime later, and with the incorporation of vocalist David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony, the band ended up being baptized as Van Halen. With that name, and after 35 years on stage, they were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2007. Below are the 5 Big Mistakes Van Halen Has Made In Their Career:
Van Halen III – The Band’s Biggest Mistake, Gary Cherone
It was 1996 and within the Van Halen group there was a feeling of uncertainty and confusion. This, as a consequence, of the departure of Sammy Hagar from the group due to problems and personal and musical appreciations with the Van Halen brothers. There was much speculation, at the time, that Sammy Hagar had resigned from the group or if the Van Halen brothers sidelined him from the band. However, the fact remains that Van Halen was left without a vocalist or frontman for their future musical projects and expectations.
Ray Danniels was in charge of managing and directing the affairs belonging to the band, in addition to handling these same in the Boston band “Extreme”, so he suggested Gary Cherone as the new vocalist for Van Halen. Cherone, for his work on “Extreme”, had achieved some recognition and popularity through songs like Play With Me, Rest In Peace, and the famous romantic ballad More Than Words, which placed him in a good place to take care of the vocals. However, Van Halen III did not reach the expected sales and notoriety, being the least sold and appreciated album of the band.
Diver Down – Taking Roth’s Suggestions
Diver Down is the fifth work of the group. This is 1982, the band has released four great albums and has toured non-stop since 1978 when they released their first LP.
David Lee Roth, a man who had always integrated elements from fields far from Hard Rock such as Vaudeville or Broadway musicals into the staging of his songs, had long toyed with the idea of recording versions of old songs, which had little to do with what the quartet had offered up to then. He suggested to Eddie Van Halen a rhythm & blues song by the group Martha and the Vandellas, called “Dancing in the Streets”, but the guitarist did not see it entirely clear.
A Different Kind Of Truth – New Era New Album (NOT)
The truth is that during the last decade or so the Van Halen brothers had left us with a bitter taste in our mouths: their album ‘III’ (1998), Eddie’s health problems and the disagreements with Sammy Haggar and Michael Anthony, no boded nothing good about his musical future.
The album, of course, has not arrived without controversy. The most commented is that the band has unscrupulously used existing material written, in some cases, in the early days of the band, back in the years 76 and 77. Songs that never officially saw the light, although they appeared in the first demos and bootlegs of the group, well known by their fans. But anyone who knows a little about Van Halen’s history will know that this has been a constant throughout their career.
OU812 – David Lee Roth’s Sudden Departure
The change in vocalist from David Lee Roth to Sammy Hagar did not ease the Van Halen fever. So it was tested with 5150 (1986), and the drastic formula change — heading to a cloying AOR, which continued to pay good dividends. It was not surprising, since it was a supergroup undercover, with Montrose’s once voice on the microphone and a respectable solo career. By May 24, 1988, they presented their new work: OU812. A cover in black and white, with the heads of the four members, that paid tribute to the iconic With the Beatles (1963); and by the aforementioned David Lee Roth; which continued the rumor of the crossfire, maintained through the names of the records released by both parties.
Balance – Straining Relationship Between The Band And Sammy Hagar
In the throes of grunge, Van Halen released their 10th studio album on January 24, 1995. Many of their contemporaries from the past decade had disbanded, or going through lean periods; instead here, although the album 1984 was its peak, its level and popularity never fell. Even the expulsion of David Lee Roth did not detract from the streak. The new line-up, dubbed Van Hagar, featured vocals by Sammy Hagar (ex-Montrose) and rose to multi-platinum status with plates 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991).
Despite the fact that a year later they gave the last spur with the song Humans Being, which was part of the soundtrack of the movie Twister; there the Halen / Hagar partnership ended — taking for granted the lackluster support tour for the compilation The Best of Both Worlds (2004), which included three equally tasteless new tracks. And what I expected at the end of the decade was no more promising: the misstep with the infamous Van Halen III (1998); Gary Cherone had the role of vocalist, taking advantage of the hiatus that Extreme was going through. But that is a separate story.