46 Fun Facts About Van Halen

In which California city was Van Halen formed?

Pasadena: the band built its following at backyard parties and high-school gigs there before graduating to Hollywood clubs such as the Starwood and the Whisky a Go Go.

In which country were Eddie and Alex Van Halen born?

The Netherlands: their Dutch father and Indonesian-descended mother faced racism there as a mixed-race couple, so the family emigrated to California in 1962.

Eddie Van Halen gave his drum kit to his brother Alex after hearing him play which surf song?

Wipe Out: Alex had been the guitarist and Eddie the drummer, so they swapped for good, and Eddie took up the electric guitar instead.

In 1972, the band that later became Van Halen went by what name?

Genesis: the band later took singer David Lee Roth's suggestion to rename itself Van Halen.

Before David Lee Roth joined Van Halen, what did the band pay him for?

Renting his PA system: Eddie said they soon decided it was 'much cheaper if we just get him in the band,' so Roth became their singer.

Which Kiss member was persuaded to see Van Halen play at Gazzarri's in 1976?

Rodney Bingenheimer made the introduction; Simmons produced an early demo.

Eddie Van Halen donated his striped Bumblebee guitar to be buried with which fallen metal guitarist?

Dimebag Darrell: weeks before he was shot dead onstage, he had asked Eddie for a replica of the guitar, and Eddie buried him with the original.

What was Van Halen's first single, from the 1978 debut album?

You Really Got Me: the band cut most of the debut live in the studio, with Eddie overdubbing only a handful of guitar parts.

Which instrumental on the debut album showcased Eddie's finger-tapping technique?

Eruption: it wasn't meant for the album; the producer walked in while Eddie was warming up for a club show and told him to put it on the record.

In 1978, Van Halen opened for which British metal band?

Black Sabbath: on their first world tour, the young openers often upstaged the headliners.

What was Van Halen's only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100?

Jump: Roth wrote the lyric after seeing a TV news report about a man threatening to leap from a building, figuring a bystander would yell 'go ahead and jump.'

Which actress married Eddie Van Halen in 1981 and had their son, Wolfgang?

Valerie Bertinelli: after their 2007 divorce Eddie remarried in 2009, and the officiant was his own brother Alex, an ordained minister.

Which album kept 1984 from reaching No. 1 on the Billboard chart?

Thriller: even as 1984 became a smash, tensions between Eddie and Roth kept growing, and Roth soon left the band.

On which Michael Jackson song did Eddie Van Halen play a guest guitar solo?

Beat It: after meeting Quincy Jones and Jackson, Eddie asked if he could change some parts, then restructured the song before adding his solo.

What is the studio Eddie built, whose name also became an album title?

5150: Eddie got the studio past city inspectors by passing off the construction as a racquetball court.

Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth in 1985, had previously fronted which band?

Montrose: Eddie reached out to Hagar at his car mechanic's suggestion, and the band soon hired him.

Which Van Halen song, whose captioned video won MTV's Video of the Year, soundtracked Crystal Pepsi ads?

Right Now: Eddie said he licensed it only because Pepsi would otherwise have hired studio musicians to record a cover.

Eddie's synth riff drives Van Halen's cover of which Motown hit?

Dancing in the Street: Roth wanted it as a quick single after the 1981 tour, but Eddie couldn't find a riff in time, so a different cover came out first.

Which Van Halen album won the 1992 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal?

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge: its initials spell the F-word, echoing a popular tale that the word began as an acronym, which word historians call nonsense.

Which film's soundtrack sessions triggered Hagar's 1996 departure?

Twister: Hagar says Eddie fired him after he asked for time off with his new baby, while Eddie said Hagar quit.

Gary Cherone, singer on Van Halen III, came from which band?

Extreme: Cherone's only Van Halen album was a commercial disappointment, and he left the band in 1999.

Which bassist did Eddie reportedly approach in the early 1980s about replacing Michael Anthony?

Billy Sheehan: nothing came of it, but in 1985 David Lee Roth, fresh out of Van Halen, phoned him to play bass in his new solo band.

Van Halen's manager in 1978 was the nephew of which TV comedy legend?

Milton Berle: when his nephew Marshall later managed Ratt, he got the comedian to appear in drag in their 'Round and Round' video.

What did Van Halen's famous tour rider demand about M&Ms?

No brown ones: the clause was a test, since a brown M&M told Roth the venue hadn't read the contract and the stage setup needed checking.

Eddie Van Halen built his homemade striped guitars from bodies and necks sold by which company?

Charvel: Eddie said he paid 50 bucks for a body and 80 for a neck, slapped them together and painted on the stripes himself.

Which David Lee Roth solo EP featured his covers of 'California Girls' and 'Just a Gigolo'?

Crazy from the Heat: he released it while still Van Halen's singer, and soon after he left the band to launch a solo career.

Which Van Halen album featured Eddie's father on clarinet?

Diver Down: a stopgap cover single became a hit, so Warner Bros. pressed the band to skip their break and record the album in about twelve days.

What did Van Halen nickname its 1995 Balance tour because of the members' injuries and ailments?

The Ambulance Tour: Eddie's hip pain eventually led to replacement surgery, and Alex played the shows in a neck brace with three ruptured vertebrae.

Which two supergroups did Michael Anthony form with Sammy Hagar after leaving Van Halen?

Chickenfoot and the Circle: Hagar said the second band took him full circle, letting him play songs from every era of his career.

What was the source of the Van Halen instrumental title '316'?

His son's birthday: years later, a teenage Wolfgang joined his father onstage to play '316' live.

What did Eddie blame for his tongue cancer?

Metal picks: he always held brass and copper picks in his mouth, right where the cancer grew, and surgery removed a third of his tongue.

Van Halen's 1990s manager first made his name managing which Canadian band?

Rush: Hagar has called that manager, Ray Danniels, the real culprit behind his split with Van Halen.

Eddie Van Halen revved which of his cars under studio microphones for the engine noise on 'Panama'?

His Lamborghini: Roth wrote the song after a reporter's jab made him realize he'd never actually written about fast cars.

Which venue in Japan gave its name to Van Halen's first live album with Roth, released in 2015?

Tokyo Dome: Eddie had first wanted to remix the band's early demos instead, but the original tapes had been lost.

Which rap hit was built on a sample of Van Halen's 'Jamie's Cryin''?

Wild Thing: Van Halen sued over the uncredited sample, and the case was settled out of court.

Which Roy Orbison classic did Van Halen turn into a hit single in 1982?

Oh, Pretty Woman: Eddie disliked covers, saying he would rather bomb with his own music than make it with other people's.

What was Van Halen called just before the band took Eddie and Alex's surname?

Mammoth: around then the brothers swapped their bassist for Michael Anthony, who had been singing and playing bass in a local band called Snake.

In 2015, Eddie Van Halen said 'brown sound' really described what?

Alex's snare drum: though fans linked the phrase to Eddie's guitar tone, he said it really described his brother's drum sound.

Van Halen set a Guinness record with a $1.5 million fee at whose 1983 US Festival?

Steve Wozniak: the Apple co-founder's festival paid a record fee, but Roth drank so much that he forgot song lyrics onstage.

What was Van Halen's first hit single, from 1979's Van Halen II?

It peaked at No. 15 on the Hot 100. The band recorded the whole album in two weeks in late 1978 between tours.

Which singer from the band Scandal turned down Eddie's invitation to replace Roth?

Daryl Hall was also offered the job in 1985 and also said no, as he later confirmed to Hagar on Live from Daryl's House.

Van Halen sued which rap group over a sample of 'Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love'?

2 Live Crew: they had used the riff without clearing it, on an album that sold millions amid a censorship fight over its lyrics.

What sound opens the first track on Van Halen's 1978 debut album?

Car horns: Van Halen had already been setting them off with a footswitch during club sets before they recorded the album.

In 2001, which singer's talks about fronting Van Halen fell apart?

Ozzy Osbourne: early talks about an Ozzy-fronted Van Halen album ended when MTV's reality show The Osbournes took over his schedule.

David Lee Roth's uncle Manny owned which New York City club?

Cafe Wha?: on folk singer Richie Havens's recommendation, Manny Roth hired a young Jimi Hendrix, then calling himself Jimmy James.

As a boy, Eddie Van Halen won piano recital contests despite never mastering what?

Reading sheet music: Eddie learned pieces by ear, and his parents hoped he'd become a concert pianist before rock music pulled him away.