One of the most popular hard rock bands ever, Van Halen's stellar reputation for no-frills macho rock has taken a backseat in recent years as continuing personnel problems impeded their ability to record and release new material.
Brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen formed the hard rock band that would take their name in 1972, with bassist Michael Anthony and singer David Lee Roth, and gigged around California to build a reputation. They finally released their debut album, Van Halen, in 1978, to great commercial success. It has since gone on to sell over 10 million copies in the US alone and is regarded as one of the greatest hard rock debuts ever. They continued to enjoy success with Van Halen II (1979) and Women and Children First (1980), buoyed by a rigorous touring schedule. Fair Warning (1981) and Diver Down (1982) were marginally less successful, but the band's live reputation was still strong, and 1984 became their commercial and critical high-point. Widely thought to be their best album, it featured their only No.1 single, "Jump". Unfortunately, during the tour in support of this album, Roth and Eddie van Halen had major conflicts, and Roth left the band.
He was replaced by Sammy Hagar, and Van Halen changed their famous logo for the release of the first Hagar-fronted album 5150 (1986). It was a big hit, reaching No.1 in the album charts, and is still thought of by many as the best Hagar-period Van Halen album. Their sound changed much over the following years, from the hard-rocking Roth sound to a more polished, commercial sound dubbed "Van Hagar" by fans. While the band continued to sell millions of records and go on sell-out tours, many fans of the Roth-era albums refused to accept Sammy Hagar as an adequate replacement, and disliked their new style. In 1996, Hagar left the band too, again because of disagreements with Eddie Van Halen.
For a short while it was believed that Roth would rejoin the band, especially after the original foursome appeared together to present an award at the MTV Video Music Awards. It turned out to be a misunderstanding, and Hagar was replaced by Gary Cherone for the recording of Van Halen III (1998). However, the album was a critical and commercial failure, and Cherone soon departed.
After a couple of failed reunion attempts with David Lee Roth between 2000 and 2002 things remained relatively quiet until 2004, when Hagar rejoined the band for three new songs and a greatest hits tour. He left soon after due to problems with Eddie Van Halen and his rumored alcohol abuse during the tour. Once again rumors surfaced of Roth rejoining the band, much encouraged by Roth himself. Eventually, with Anthony replaced as bassist by Eddie's then 16 year-old son Wolfgang Van Halen, the band commenced a reunion tour in September 2007 with original singer David Lee Roth taking center stage. With the recent release of Guitar Hero: Van Halen along with rumors of a new album coming soon being confirmed by Eddie himself and a new tour in 2010, things are looking up for one of the greatest rock bands in history.
