Van Halen

VAN HALEN. American rock band formed in California in 1972. They are credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", are known for their energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of their lead guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. Upon its release in 1978, the band's self-titled debut album reached No19 on the Billboard pop music charts and would sell over 10 million copies in the US. By 1982, the band released four more albums (Van Halen II / Women and Children First / Fair Warning and Diver Down), all of which have since been certified multi-platinum. By the early 1980s, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the day. The album 1984 was a commercial success with US sales of 10 million copies and four hit singles. In 1985, David Lee Roth left the band to embark on a solo career and was replaced by former Montrose lead vocalist Sammy Hagar. With Hagar, they released four US No1 multi-platinum albums over the course of 11 years. Hagar left the band in 1996 shortly before the release of the band's first greatest hits collection, Best Of – Volume I. Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone replaced Hagar and recorded the commercially unsuccessful album Van Halen III with the band in 1998, before parting ways in 1999. Van Halen then went on hiatus until reuniting with Hagar in 2003 for a worldwide tour in 2004 and the double-disc greatest hits collection The Best of Both Worlds. Hagar again left Van Halen in 2005. In 2006 Roth returned, but Anthony was replaced on bass guitar by Eddie's son, Wolfgang Van Halen. In 2012, the band released their final studio album A Different Kind of Truth which was commercially and critically successful. As of March 2019, Van Halen is 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States; the band has sold 56 million albums in the States and more than 80 million worldwide, making them one of the best-selling groups of all time. Eddie was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 and died aged 65 on October 6th 2020