Van Halen Trivia
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This Van Halen trivia quiz has 46 free questions with answers and runs from the brothers' birth in Amsterdam and the Pasadena party circuit through the Warner Bros. signing on a napkin, the Diamond-certified debut, Eruption and finger-tapping, the 1984 album and Jump, David Lee Roth's exit, the four straight No. 1 albums with Sammy Hagar, the Gary Cherone detour, Wolfgang replacing Michael Anthony, A Different Kind of Truth and Eddie's death in 2020. Along the way it stops at the Frankenstrat, the Beat It solo, the brown M&M rider and the Hall of Fame. Early questions suit anyone who can hum the Jump riff; later ones reward fans who know which band name they had to abandon, who introduced Eddie to Sammy Hagar, and what 5150 refers to. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing. No lyrics are quoted.
30 of 46 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which California city was Van Halen formed?
Pasadena
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.
Q 02In which country were Eddie and Alex Van Halen born?
The Netherlands
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.
Q 03Eddie Van Halen gave his drum kit to his brother Alex after hearing him play which surf song?
Wipe Out
Wipe Out: Alex had been the guitarist and Eddie the drummer, so they swapped for good, and Eddie took up the electric guitar instead.
Q 04In 1972, the band that later became Van Halen went by what name?
Genesis
Genesis: the band later took singer David Lee Roth's suggestion to rename itself Van Halen.
Q 05Before David Lee Roth joined Van Halen, what did the band pay him for?
Renting his PA system
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.
Q 06Which Kiss member was persuaded to see Van Halen play at Gazzarri's in 1976?
Gene Simmons
Rodney Bingenheimer made the introduction; Simmons produced an early demo.
Q 07Eddie Van Halen donated his striped Bumblebee guitar to be buried with which fallen metal guitarist?
Dimebag Darrell
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.
Q 08What was Van Halen's first single, from the 1978 debut album?
You Really Got Me
You Really Got Me: the band cut most of the debut live in the studio, with Eddie overdubbing only a handful of guitar parts.
Q 09Which instrumental on the debut album showcased Eddie's finger-tapping technique?
Eruption
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.
Q 10In 1978, Van Halen opened for which British metal band?
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath: on their first world tour, the young openers often upstaged the headliners.
Q 11What was Van Halen's only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100?
Jump
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.'
Q 12Which actress married Eddie Van Halen in 1981 and had their son, Wolfgang?
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Bertinelli: after their 2007 divorce Eddie remarried in 2009, and the officiant was his own brother Alex, an ordained minister.
Q 13Which album kept 1984 from reaching No. 1 on the Billboard chart?
Thriller
Thriller: even as 1984 became a smash, tensions between Eddie and Roth kept growing, and Roth soon left the band.
Q 21Gary Cherone, singer on Van Halen III, came from which band?
Extreme
Extreme: Cherone's only Van Halen album was a commercial disappointment, and he left the band in 1999.
Q 22Which bassist did Eddie reportedly approach in the early 1980s about replacing Michael Anthony?
Billy Sheehan
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.
Q 23Van Halen's manager in 1978 was the nephew of which TV comedy legend?
Milton Berle
Milton Berle: when his nephew Marshall later managed Ratt, he got the comedian to appear in drag in their 'Round and Round' video.
Q 14On which Michael Jackson song did Eddie Van Halen play a guest guitar solo?
Beat It
Beat It: after meeting Quincy Jones and Jackson, Eddie asked if he could change some parts, then restructured the song before adding his solo.
Q 15What is the studio Eddie built, whose name also became an album title?
5150
5150: Eddie got the studio past city inspectors by passing off the construction as a racquetball court.
Q 16Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth in 1985, had previously fronted which band?
Montrose
Montrose: Eddie reached out to Hagar at his car mechanic's suggestion, and the band soon hired him.
Q 17Which Van Halen song, whose captioned video won MTV's Video of the Year, soundtracked Crystal Pepsi ads?
Right Now
Right Now: Eddie said he licensed it only because Pepsi would otherwise have hired studio musicians to record a cover.
Q 18Eddie's synth riff drives Van Halen's cover of which Motown hit?
Dancing in the Street
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.
Q 19Which Van Halen album won the 1992 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal?
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
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.
Q 20Which film's soundtrack sessions triggered Hagar's 1996 departure?
Twister
Twister: Hagar says Eddie fired him after he asked for time off with his new baby, while Eddie said Hagar quit.
Q 24What did Van Halen's famous tour rider demand about M&Ms?
No brown ones
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.
Q 25Eddie Van Halen built his homemade striped guitars from bodies and necks sold by which company?
Charvel
Charvel: Eddie said he paid 50 bucks for a body and 80 for a neck, slapped them together and painted on the stripes himself.
Q 26Which David Lee Roth solo EP featured his covers of 'California Girls' and 'Just a Gigolo'?
Crazy from the Heat
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.
Q 27Which Van Halen album featured Eddie's father on clarinet?
Diver Down
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.
Q 28What did Van Halen nickname its 1995 Balance tour because of the members' injuries and ailments?
The Ambulance Tour
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.
Q 29Which two supergroups did Michael Anthony form with Sammy Hagar after leaving Van Halen?
Chickenfoot and the Circle
Chickenfoot and the Circle: Hagar said the second band took him full circle, letting him play songs from every era of his career.
Q 30What was the source of the Van Halen instrumental title '316'?
His son's birthday
His son's birthday: years later, a teenage Wolfgang joined his father onstage to play '316' live.