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Van Halen
The origins of this, one of America's most successful heavy metal bands, date back to
Pasadena, California, in 1973. . Eddie Van Halen (b. 26 January 1957, Nijmegen,
Netherlands; guitar, keyboards), Alex Van Halen (b. 8 May 1955, Nijmegen, Netherlands;
drums) and Michael Anthony (b. 20 June 1955, Chicago, Illinois, USA; bass) who were
members of the Broken Combs, persuaded vocalist David Lee Roth (b. 10 October 1955,
Bloomington, Indiana, USA) to leave the Real Ball Jets and become a member.
After he consented they changed their name to Mammoth. Specializing in a mixture of
60s and 70s covers plus hard rock originals, they toured the bar and club circuit of
Los Angeles virtually non-stop during the mid-70s.
Their first break came when Gene Simmons (bass player of Kiss) saw one of their club
gigs. He was amazed by the energy they generated and the flamboyance of their lead
singer.
Simmons produced a Mammoth demo, but surprisingly it was refused by many major labels
in the USA. It was then discovered that the name Mammoth was already registered, so
they would have to find an alternative. After considering Rat Salade, they opted for
Roth's suggestion of simply Van Halen.
On the strength of Simmons' recommendation, producer Ted Templeman checked out the band,
was duly impressed and convinced Warner Brothers Records to sign them.
With Templeman at the production desk, Van Halen entered the studio and recorded their
self-titled debut in 1978. With 1984, released on New Year's Day of that year, the band
returned to form.
Nine original tracks reaffirmed their position as the leading exponents of heavy-duty
melodic metal infused with a pop sensibility. Spearheaded by "Jump", a Billboard number
1 and UK number 7, the album lodged at number 2 in the US chart for a full five weeks
during its one-year residency.
Van Halen song lyrics...
Jump
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