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image of van halen in 1984
image of van halen in the mid 80's
image of van halen in 2012

Van Halen is American rock band from Pasedena, California. Formed by drummer Alex Van Halen and guitarist Eddie Van Halen in 1972, singer Dave Lee Roth joined the band later that year and bassist Michael Anthony joined the band in 1974. Van Halen's first album Van Halen was released in 1978 and it was a impressive debut. It featued the songs I'm the One, Ain't talkin' 'bout Love, Atomic Punk, and On Fire. It also fetured Eddie Van Halen's famous guitar solo Eruption. Van Halen II was released in 1979 and it was another success it featured the songs Dance the Night Away, Light up the Sky, and Beautiful Girls. In 1980 the band released Women and Children first featuring the hit songs And the Cradle will Rock and Everybody want Some. Next, the band released the album Fair Warning in 1981 featuring the songs Mean Streets and Unchained. Their next album was probably the band's worst of their early years. Five of the twelve songs were covers and the featured hits songs were covers Pretty Woman and Dancing in the Streets.

Van Halen's next album 1984 is considered by many to be their best album and one of the greatest rock albums of all time. It featured the hit songs Jump, Panama, Hot for a Teacher, and I'll Wait and the album also predominately featured the use of synthesizers. Album was also very popular on MTV and Jump was the number one video for several weeks. At the height of their popularity David Lee Roth left the band citing creative differences with the band. The band then hired Sammy Hagar in 1985 to replace Roth on vocals. The first album with Hagar was 5150 released in 1986 and was another huge hit for Van Halen. It featured the hit songs Why can't this be Love, Dreams, Summer Nights, Love Walks In, and the Best of Both Worlds. Van Halen released three more albums with Hagar on vocals, OU812 in 1988, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge in 1991, and Balance in 1995. Each album went on to be successful albums for Van halen and the Balance album being the best album of the three. It featured the hit songs Can't Stop Lovin' You, Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do), Amsterdam, and Feelin. In 1996 Sammy Hagar left band, conflicts between him and the Van Halen brothers led to him quitting.

Van Halen's next hired singer Gary Cherone to replace Hagar. The band released the album Van Halen III in 1998 and it received poor reviews. It featured the songs One I Want and Fire in the Hole. Cherone left the band in 1999 on good terms and there was no bad blood between him and the band it just didn't work out. Poor attendance for the band's tour and pressure from Warner Brothers to replace him, plus fans not liking him in the line up led to him leaving the band. After that there was a short reunion and tour with Hagar on vocals and also they released a best of album. In 2005 long time bassist Michael Anthony then left the band he had been playing with hagar on his solo tour. In 2006 Eddie confirmed that Michael Anthony had left the band and was being replaced by his son Wolfgang Van Halen. He also confirmed that there was a new album in the works with former singer David Lee Roth.

In 2012 the band released the long awaited album A Different Kind of Truth. The album received overwhelmingly positive response from critics and fans alike. The brought back the old Van Halen sound from the early years. The album featured the songs Tattoo, She's the Woman, You and Your Blues, and Honeybabysweetiedoll. Van Halen is one of the most influential bands of all time influencing many of the hard rock and metal bands of the 1980's. Eddie Van Halen's unique playing style has influenced many guitarist over the years such as, Dimebag Darrell(Pantera), Nuno Bettencourt(Extreme), and Alex Skolnick(Testament). If you are interested in Van Halen check out their website Van Halen.com.

Van Halen's Albums

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