The van Halens were born in the Netherlands. Edward and Alex Van Halen are children of a jazz musician and have therefore grown up with music from birth. They both studied classical composition technique and piano, then in 1968 they moved to California with their parents.
There they formed their first band mammoth with Mike Anthony on bass. David Lee Roth joined them later and the four became Rat Salad, who whould go on to become Van Halen a short time later.
Funfact: The band changed their name from Rat Salad to Van Halen because Eddie thought that the name would sound like a German atomic bomb.
They didn't have to wait long for success. Eddie is definitely one of the best guitarists on this planet, Micheal Anthony attracted attention with his bass playing and his background voice, Alex tore down the stage on the drums and David Lee Roth entertained the crowd like no other and they were quick to become icons of rock.
Edward 'Eddie' Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen was born on January 26th, 1955 as Edward Lodewijk Van Halen in Amsterdam. Through his father, he came into contact with music at a very early age. First he learned to play the piano and drums before swapping instruments with his brother Alex.
His role models were artists like Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton. During high school the brothers formed the band Van Halen with Micheal Anthony and David Lee Roth. With their debut album, Eddie suddenly became one of the most famous guitarists in the world. He would later be voted one of the 12 Most Influential Guitarists of All Time by Guitar Player. In 2012 he was voted the best guitarist of all time by the readers of Guitar World magazine.
Sadly Eddie died on October 6th, 2020 as a result of his throat cancer. But one thing is certain. Eddie will never be forgotten.
Van Halen albums
Van Halen's albums are classics in hard rock for a reason. In their debut album with the simple name 'Van Halen' one hit came after another. With the song 'Eruption' Eddie showed everyone in the world that he is the benchmark for all guitarists.
This was followed by albums like 'Van Halen II', 'Women and Children First', which is more varied but just as good as the previous one. So it went on with high-class rock albums.
After David Lee Roth broke away from the band to start a solo career, Sammy Hagar came along, who had previously sang with Montrose. The bands success carried on with him and Van Halen continued to be celebratd by their fans. After seven years Sammy Hagar left the band too. But then afeter a back and forth argument on the singing position, Sammy Hagar took over the microphone again for a reunion tour, right before Van Halen were inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame.
And in fact there was another tour with the original singer David Lee Roth after more than two decades apart.
Van Halen merchandise
Want more from Van Halen? Then take a look at our Van Halen shop. In addition to our Buy Van Valen albums online, you will also find a lot of Van Halen t-shirts.
If you want more merch from legendary bands, check out The Beatles, Queen or The Rolling Stones!