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Van Halen

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Van Halen is an international band formed in the early-1970s, originally called Mammoth (before being called Van Halen, one of the band’s ideas for a name was Rat Salade). The band’s first studio album, “Van Halen”, released in 1978 is widely regarded as a milestone in rock music. With this first release, the band, featuring David Lee Roth on vocals, Michael Anthony on bass, and Dutch-born Edward Van Halen on guitars (and also keyboards later) and brother Alex Van Halen on drums, established itself as a leader in the emerging and commercially successful U.S. music genre of the 1980s. In particular, Eddie Van Halen quickly gained widespread notoriety for his technical prowess and musical sensibility. Almost overnight, he was touted as one of the most innovative and influential American rock and roll guitarists.

From 1978 to 1998 the band released 11 studio albums (with David Lee Roth until 1984, Sammy Hagar from 1986 to 1995 and Gary Cherone from 1998 to 1999), all of which broke the Top 20 spot of the Billboard 200 music charts. Their biggest hit, “PlayJump”, never made it to #1 as Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” always held that spot (incidently, this song includes one of the most memorables guitar solos by Eddie, who refused appearing in the video as he expected the song would never become a hit).
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