Van Halen is an American rock band (though the Van Halen brothers who founded the band were actually born in the Netherlands, but were raised in the USA) formed in Pasadena, California in 1972. They enjoyed immediate popularity and influence from the release of their debut album, Van Halen in 1978, which lasted until the band's lineup destabilized in the late 1990s. As of 2007 Van Halen has released eleven studio albums, two compilation albums and one live album, selling more than 80 million albums worldwide and earning the band the Guinness Book of World Records title for the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Van Halen is #19 on the list of top selling artists of all time (having sold more than 56 million albums in the U.S.) and is one of only five rock groups that have had two albums sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S. The band and its best known former members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007.

In addition to being recognized for artistic contributions and success, the band is known for the drama surrounding its lead singer spot.

Following their 2004 concert tour the band was on hiatus until September 2006, when word was confirmed that Wolfgang Van Halen was now a new member of the band, replacing Michael Anthony on bass. Other than three new songs in 2004, the band has released no new material since their last album Van Halen III was released in 1998. After long speculation, in August 2007 it was finally confirmed that the band would do a tour with the new lineup in late 2007 across North America. In 2008, an album and further worldwide touring are proposed to follow.

David Lee Roth era (1972 - 1985)

As "Mammoth": Early Days

In 1972, the Van Halen brothers formed a three-piece band. In their early days, Van Halen was known as Mammoth, with Eddie Van Halen as lead vocalist and guitarist, Alex Van Halen on drums, and Mark Stone on bass. They rented a sound system from David Lee Roth, but decided they could save money by letting Roth and his P.A. system into the band (Eddie was not keen on being a vocalist since it distracted him from his primary talent - guitar playing). Roth had previously auditioned for them, unsuccessfully, and ended up forming and singing for his own band. The band decided Stone did not suit them, and Michael Anthony was called over to David Lee Roth's father's basement (where the band rehearsed)) to see how he compared. Anthony, the bassist and frontman of the band "Snake," had seen Mammoth performing at a festival. Eddie, Alex, and Anthony jammed late into the night and hired Anthony as the band's new bassist/backup vocalist.

The band discovered in 1974 that the name "Mammoth" was already being used and re-named themselves "Van Halen". According to David Lee Roth's autobiography, Roth suggested the name based on the timeless quality of the brothers last name, which he compared to Santana or other acts known by a last name. The newly-renamed band started playing clubs in Pasadena and Hollywood more frequently and to growing audiences, working hard to increase their popularity through self promotion: before each gig they would pass out flyers at local high schools in Pasadena and the vicinity. The band soon built up a major following.

The band became a staple act on Hollywood's Sunset Strip during the mid-1970s, consistently playing at well known clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go. In 1977 Gene Simmons, of the rock band Kiss, saw one of Van Halen's shows and financed their first demo tape, flying the band to Electric Ladyland studios in New York City to record "House of Pain" and "Runnin' with the devil". Eddie disliked his playing on the demo, because he was not using his own equipment and had to overdub guitar parts. Simmons wanted to change the band's name to "Daddy Longlegs" and had designed cover art (a daddy longlegs wearing a top hat), but the band stuck with Van Halen. Simmons opted to forgo any more involvement with the band, and returned to Kiss.

Later in 1977, Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman of Warner Bros. records saw Van Halen performing at the Starwood in Hollywood. Although the audience was small, the two were so impressed with Van Halen that within a week they offered them a recording contract, and in October of that year, Van Halen entered Sunset Sound Recorders studio and recorded their eponymous first album.

All of the tracks were laid down very quickly (about three weeks), with little over-dubbing or double tracking. Minor mistakes were left on the record and a very simple musical set-up was used to give the record an almost-live feel. After adding vocals, the album was essentially ready to be mixed. Despite the simple studio set-up, Van Halen featured innovations in musical technique, production, and arrangement.

Departure of Roth

Van Halen's next album, 1984 (released on January 9, 1984) was their commercial pinnacle, and often considered artistic peak too. Recorded at Eddie Van Halen's newly-built 5150 Studios, it prominently used keyboards, previously heard only rarely. The lead single, "Jump", featured a bouncy synthesizer hook and anthemic lyrics, and became the band's first and only #1 pop hit, garnering them a Grammy nomination. Other hit singles included "Panama", "I'll Wait", and "Hot for Teacher". This more commercial style and use of keyboards softened the sound, moving it away from the band's hard rock roots. Many of the songs had popular music videos on MTV , especially "Hot for Teacher," which featured a scantily clad model playing the part of an elementary-school teacher and school-age boys portraying younger versions of the band. 1984 was praised by critics and fans alike , peaking at #2 on the Billboard charts behind Thriller by Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen played the guitar solo on the hit song "Beat It," on that album).

However, the album was also a breaking point. In the midst of the tour, the artistic and personal tensions among the musicians reached a fever pitch. Reasons for the breakup vary based on the band member interviewed, but were rooted in control of the band's sound and image. Roth was upset about Edward playing music outside of Van Halen without checking with the band and Eddie was sick of Roth's flamboyant behavior and stage persona. On April 1, 1985, Roth left Van Halen.

Sammy Hagar era (1985 - 1996)

At first, Eddie asked Patty Smyth of Scandal to replace Roth but she said no. Eddie was then introduced by way of a mutual auto mechanic to Sammy Hagar, formerly of 1970s band Montrose, and at that time a solo artist coming off a very successful year (his 1984 album VOA had yielded hit single "I Can't Drive 55'"). Hagar agreed to join, also serving as a rhythm guitar to add to the Van Halen sound. The 1986 Van Halen album 5150 was a hit, becoming the band's first #1 album on the Billboard charts, driven by the keyboard-dominated singles "Why Can't This Be Love?", "Dreams" and "Love Walks In". The album included diverse songs ranging from the thrashiness of "Get Up" and party rock of "Summer Nights" to the more introspective "Best Of Both Worlds" and a guitar heavy title track. To further introduce the new era for the band, a new Van Halen logo was put on the cover. The new logo retained elements of the original, but now it had curved "wings" instead of straight. 5150 is generally considered the strongest album of the "Hagar era".

1986 Tour

Following the release of the 5150 album, a tour was launched to support it across North America. Named the 1986 Tour, the title was a homage to the previous 1984 Tour in support of the 1984 album. The band proved touring with Hagar was as successful as with Roth, and footage was released on VHS/DVD as Van Halen - Live Without a Net. In the tour Hagar wanted to minimise the use of pre-Hagar Van Halen songs in the set, other than the band's best known classics. This was a trend that continued, with the expanding repertoire of Hagar-era songs slowly whittling away at the number of Roth-era songs on the set list.

During Hagar's tenure, the band established a musical formula that proved commercially successful in the United States. Hagar's style enabled Van Halen to become accessible to a wider audience, with lyrics that were more conventional and refined. Eddie's keyboard work brought a wider variety of sonic textures within each song, and the production was altered toward the pop side, and the songs became longer: During the Roth era, Van Halen songs rarely stretched beyond three and a half minutes, and some albums struggled to cross the thirty minute mark. With Hagar, some songs exceeded five minutes in length. The result was markedly different from the hard charging, rollicking riffs of the group's earlier work. The mix of pop and hard rock styles created a new sound for Van Halen.

All four studio albums produced during this period reached #1 on the Billboard pop music charts and 17 singles breached the top 12 of the mainstream rock tracks chart. In addition, Van Halen was nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning the 1991 Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal award for the album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Van Halen continued to enjoy tremendous success throughout the mid-90's, while many other bands fell from favor, overtaken by anti-establishment "Grunge Music". In 1995 Van Halen surprised many fans by supporting Bon Jovi on their European Summer stadium tour.

The band's commercial success and new "Van Hagar" sound did little to woo many fans who still held a strong resentment over Roth's departure and refused to move on. However Eddie repeatedly said he was happier with Hagar singing and that "Roth was not coming back".

Departure of Hagar

During the recording of songs for the film Twister, escalating tension between Hagar and the Van Halen brothers boiled and Hagar departed on Father's Day, 1996. The band had recorded a song, "Humans Being" which Eddie claimed he had to write all the lyrics for since Hagar's were "too cheesy". This upset Hagar, and when they were to record a second song for the soundtrack Hagar was in Hawaii. He wasn't keen on doing soundtrack work since it would make the music hard to obtain for fans, 'abusing' them, so the second track the band were due to record became an Eddie/Alex instrumental, Respect the Wind.

The band were also working on a compilation album, which Hagar was not keen on since he felt it was not what fans wanted and not something the band needed to release yet - with a long career ahead of them. New manager, Ray Danniels (replacing the late Ed Leffler) had suggested the idea, and he did not get along with Hagar. Reluctant to work on new songs for that before a new album came out, the band fell out - with the management siding with Eddie and Alex. Hagar also was rumoured to have concerns over comparisons on an album which featured both his work and Roth's.

Hagar claimed that he was fired; Van Halen claimed that he quit. The media storm surrounding the dramatic exit of Hagar helped him immediately restart his solo career. However, the publicity did not help Van Halen, serving to highlight the vacant lead singer spot. The band's past successes set high expectations, and fans everywhere were waiting for the band's next move. Throughout this time, Michael Anthony managed to remain on good terms with Hagar.

With Mitch Malloy (1996)

When Sammy Hagar left Van Halen, they very quickly recruited Mitch Malloy as a replacement. They recorded demos with Malloy and jammed with him. He was a friend of Eddie, and quickly became close to the rest of the band so they decided it was appropriate to invite him in when they realised he was also a talented vocalist.

Temporary Reunion with Roth (1996)

David Lee Roth got in touch with Eddie over the phone to discuss what tracks would be included on the compilation Van Halen had been working on (this was before Hagar's actual departure), which in theory it was still going to be made after Hagar's departure. They got along well, and Eddie invited him up to see him. Shortly afterwards, David Lee Roth re-entered the studio with the Van Halen brothers, Michael Anthony, and producer Glen Ballard. Two songs from those sessions were added to the band's Greatest Hits album and released as singles to help promote it.

By September, Roth and the rest of the band were asked to present an award at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. On September 4, 1996, the four original members of Van Halen made their first public appearance together as Van Halen in over eleven years, presenting an award at the MTV Video Music Awards. This helped to bring the compilation to #1 on the US album charts. However, unknown to Roth, Eddie and Alex were still auditioning other singers.

Gary Cherone era (1996 - 1999)

The band recruited Gary Cherone, frontman of the defunct Boston-based band Extreme, best known for the acoustic ballad More Than Words. The result was Van Halen III. Many songs were longer and more ethereal. It was less about rocking out, more thought-provoking ("How Many Say I", with Eddie on vocals). These changes alienated many fans while failing to attract new fans. Sales were poor by the band's standards (it has only been certified Gold) — despite the album peaking at #4 on the US charts. Van Halen III did produce a hit however, "Without You". The song "Fire in the Hole" appeared on the Lethal Weapon 4 soundtrack. It would also later be revealed that Anthony was only permitted by Eddie to play bass on three tracks on the album and that Eddie played the rest. Anthony received a full credit, masking this behind the scenes difficulty.

The album was followed by a poorly attended but well received and widespread tour. The III Tour saw Van Halen playing in new countries, with a schedule that was impressive for a band their age. It included taking a US-style arena setup into the Oceanic continent.

Shortly afterwards, Van Halen returned to the studio. In early 1999, they started work on a new album, rumoured to be called Love Again. Working titles of songs included "Left for Dead," "River Wide," "Say Uncle," "You Wear it Well," "More Than Yesterday," "I Don't Miss You...Much," "Love Divine," and "From Here, Where Do We Go?".

Departure of Cherone

Van Halen's new album was unfinished when Cherone left amicably in November 1999. Citing musical differences, it is likely III's sales and critical reception had a big impact. Touring with Cherone, regardless of his charisma, had proven disappointing in terms of attendance. Unlike the previous two singers, there was no bad blood and Cherone remained in contact with Van Halen. As when Hagar left, speculation resumed on a Roth reunion.

Reunion with Hagar (2004 - 2005)

During January 2003, the VHND (Van Halen News Desk) website reported that Sammy Hagar was working with the Van Halens. No official confirmation came for an extended period of time. In late March 2004, Van Halen and Sammy Hagar announced that Hagar would reunite with the band for a Greatest Hits album release and a Summer concert tour of the USA.

In July 2004, Van Halen released their second Greatest Hits compilation (a double album, unlike the first), featuring three new songs with Hagar: "It's About Time", "Up For Breakfast", and "Learning to See". These songs were newly written by the Van Halen brothers and Sammy Hagar. The songs were credited to Hagar/Van Halen/Van Halen, which was unusual since normally the entire lineup (which also included Michael Anthony) would be credited. However, the performance was credited to the entire band; Michael Anthony would later reveal in interviews that Eddie Van Halen had infact not wanted him to be a part of the reunion and for this reason Anthony had not been allowed to perform in the sessions (explaining his lack of a songwriting credit), with Eddie playing the bass parts himself instead. Though it was the only new album since the band's first Greatest Hits, no songs with Gary Cherone from Van Halen III were included. It was certified platinum in the USA in August 2004.

The tour grossed almost US$55 million, and Pollstar listed Van Halen in the top 10 grossing tours of 2004. Most of the concerts received positive feedback from professional reviewers. On some shows, Eddie's son Wolfgang came onstage and played guitar with his father during 316 a song dedicated to his son, taking its name from his birthday. However, serious problems surfaced. Promoters lost money, tickets were often deemed overpriced, and few shows sold out.

Reports from the first half of the tour were largely positive. Later, however, stories of Eddie being drunk and playing poorly also circulated. At the end of the band's final show of the tour, in Tucson, Eddie smashed one of his guitars on stage and quickly walked off stage.

Second Reunion with Roth (2006 - present)

Rumors of a David Lee Roth reunion re-emerged (as they did whenever the band lacked a singer) and on January 3, 2006, Roth explained during an interview that he spoke to Alex Van Halen the previous week and a reunion was "inevitable". However, he also said that Eddie Van Halen was "off in his own little world" recently.

Following this, the press frequently interviewed the band, though Van Halen avoided reunion discussions. When asked if any problems occurred with Sammy Hagar during the 2004 tour Eddie Van Halen answered, "Sammy is Sammy, and for the most part that's just fine". There was no mention of a reunion with Roth, but there was a sense of completion concerning their work with Hagar.

Roth persisted with suggestions of a reunion, saying "People want the reunion." and "No one will pay respect to what any of us do [musically] until we get the reunion out of the way.".

Roth continued to refer to a reunion, and in late May 2006 told Billboard.com, "There's contact between the two camps". On June 3rd, Michael Anthony began a successful tour with Hagar. They toured as "The Other Half" (a reference of them being the 'other half' of Van Halen to the Van Halen brothers), with Anthony singing lead vocals sometimes. In what may have been a response to this, on June 19, in order to remind fans that Van Halen still existed, the Van Halen brothers Jumped onstage with Kenny Chesney at The Home Depot Center performing "Jump" and "You really got me". This unusual performance was their first onstage together or separately since November 2004. This was followed by another Eddie Van Halen performance in July 19, 2006, at the House of Petals in Los Angeles, playing new material. He followed this with an announcement on July 27, 2006, that some of his new music would be released on the soundtrack for the pornography film Sacred Sin. This would be the first recording by the band's leader since Best Of Both Worlds.

Recent events: Reunion begins

On April 21, 2007, Eddie Van Halen served as an Honorary Race Official for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. He looked fit and well, better than he had on the last tour despite being three years older. He joined Sperber on the pre-race stage greeting drivers as they were introduced. In addition to duties as a Race Official, he unveiled a limited edition Fender Stratocaster as well as a limited edition EVH brand Frankenstein replica guitar for the race's winner. On May 24, Eddie posted a note to the Van Halen website confirming that he had exited rehab, having cured his ills.

On Monday, July 2, 2007 press reported that the reunion tour with David Lee Roth on vocals is in the planning stage. Then on August 6th, Billboard.com reported that the band had all but finalized a tour, beginning in October. Speculation was further fueled by the same report as it also said that the band will be officially announcing this tour at a Hollywood press conference on Monday, August 13th at 2:30pm eastern time. After nearly 10 months of speculation, on Monday, August 13th, 2007, Van Halen (and David Lee Roth separately via his own website) announced that the band will be going on a tour of North America beginning on September 27. No news on the previously announced and subsequently canceled Best of (1978-1984) compilation album has been made. However, Roth claimed in the press release that, "the idea is that this will continue on and on and on" and also that a world tour and new album were in the works (though the band has yet to get a record deal since it was dropped by Warner Bros. in 2002).

Though the press reaction to the reunion was largely warm due to the band's cheery behaviour at the press conference, the newly re-designed website sparked controversy when Michael Anthony was removed from the album artwork on the Van Halen album (replaced by an image of Wolfgang), and the group photo from the Women and Children First album was taken off entirely. After significant outrage emerged across the Internet, the album covers were reverted to their original state without a word. The tour was originally 25 dates, but popularity has raised it to 40.

Van Halen started their first tour with David Lee Roth in 23 years on September 27, 2007 in Charlotte, North Carolina. They played to a sell out crowd and generated positive reviews. After much debate, the backing vocal situation could be seen dealt with on stage - Eddie and his son sing them for the band now.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Halen