Back in May, Heart’s Nancy Wilson stepped out on her own with You and Me, a solo album that marked her very first foray into “solo artist” territory. One of the more affecting songs on the record is “4 Edward,” Nancy’s emotional tribute to her friend, the late Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Today, Oct. 6, marks the one-year anniversary of his death after a courageous … [Read more...]
How Van Halen Beat The Sophomore Jinx With ‘Van Halen II’ [VIDEO]
Got a drink in my hand, got my toes in the sand. All I need is some good internet service so I can watch the latest video on Van Halen from the "Professor of Rock"! "The Professor" Adam Reader has just done a deep dive into 1979's Van Halen II album and how it avoided the sophomore jinx. The sophomore jinx is defined as being an instance in which a second, … [Read more...]
Van Halen Author Greg Renoff Interview At Sunset Sound Recorders
Author/Van Halen historian Greg Renoff sat down for in-depth interview at the site of Van Halen's classic early recordings - Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood. Renoff, the author of Van Halen Rising: How A Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal and Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music, had plenty of stories to tell regarding Van Halen's … [Read more...]
Better Or Worse? YouTuber Dr. Bob Puts David Lee Roth On The Vocal Tuning Operating Table
Somebody get me Dr. Bob! Bobby Huff is a producer/songwriter who has a series of videos titled "Music Surgery with Dr. Bob". They all include the good doctor "cutting into" rock songs in pursuit of musical perfection. In his latest episode he decided to operate on David Lee Roth's vocals from Van Halen's "Dance The Night Away". "So we've all heard the argument that Sammy … [Read more...]
Don Dokken Says Seeing Eddie Van Halen Perform Convinced Him To Give Up The Guitar
How good was Eddie Van Halen? So good he could make a guitarist give up the guitar. Dokken recently recalled the first time he saw Eddie perform live. It was at a venue in California in the 70s when Dokken was the lead guitarist and lead singer of a Los Angeles band called Airborn. "This is before the Dokken days, before I got signed," Dokken said while a guest on the … [Read more...]
Absolutely EPIC Footage of Van Halen Live, 1979!
Amidst the screams of sweat-soaked teenaged fans, fists raised high in the air, comes the voice of Van Halen's toast master David Lee Roth giving his bandmate Alex Van Halen the cue: "Help 'em dance the night away Al!!!" And with that, the party raged on... It was on this night in 1979 that Van Halen brought their very first headlining tour into Rochester, New York for a … [Read more...]
‘The Van Halen Story – The Early Years’ Now Available on DVD
The Van Halen Story - The Early Years has been released again on DVD! This DVD documentary chronicles the rise of four young musicians from their formative years to their transformation into a worldwide phenomenon. Witness the group's gripping tale told by the people who were there when it began - the childhood friends, fellow musicians, roadies, bodyguards, producers, and … [Read more...]
‘Van Halen II’ Anniversary & Tribute!
Van Halen II: 1. You're No Good2. Dance The Night Away3. Somebody Get Me A Doctor4. Bottoms Up!5. Outta Love Again6. Light Up The Sky7. Spanish Fly8. D.O.A.9. Women In Love...10. Beautiful Girls Release Date:March 23, 1979Recorded:December 1978 - January 1979 at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, CALength:32:00Producer:Ted TemplemanPreceded By:Van … [Read more...]
Listen To ‘Extremely Rare’ 1979 Interview With Eddie & Alex Van Halen
A July 1979 interview with Eddie and Alex Van Halen during Van Halen's first headlining tour has surfaced. In the interview, uploaded by YouTuber Paulo Micheli, Eddie and Alex are hangin' out in the studio of St. Paul, Minnesota's KQRS FM to promote their second of two shows at the St. Paul Civic Auditorium. Van Halen played at the St. Paul Civic on July 24th and 25th of … [Read more...]
Steel Panther Releases Tribute To Van Halen [Video]
Steel Panther have released a pair of covers from Van Halen's classic second album. The band's renditions of "Beautiful Girls" and "D.O.A." - originally from 1979's 'Van Halen II' - were filmed and recorded virtually from the band members' individual homes. “When we were playing weekly shows on the Sunset Strip, Van Halen music was essential to our setlists to keep the … [Read more...]
Yngwie Malmsteen On Van Halen’s ‘Outta Love Again’: ‘It’s Ridiculous. It’s Just So Good’
Guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen during a recent Guitar World interview and cited the 'Van Halen II' deep track "Outta Love Again" as among his favorites. "There's a song on the second album, 'Outta Love Again'. Edward and Alex's playing on that, it's just one take, you can hear it. It's sick," said Malmsteen. "It's ridiculous. It's just so good. … [Read more...]
WatchMojo Pays Tribute To Eddie Van Halen [VIDEO]
The YouTube channel WatchMojo paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen by highlighting his best career moments. In the video above WatchMojo takes a look at the accomplishments of Eddie by counting down his past appearances on: Top 10 Songs That Make You Want to Jump, Top 10 Iconic Guitars of All Time, Top 10 Musical Siblings, Top 10 Coolest Rock Vocal-Guitar Duos, Top 10 Most Insane … [Read more...]