Which Van Halen songs do you think should have gone to number one but didn't? If you said "Panama" you're in good company. The Professor of Rock hosts a series of videos devoted to the greatest classic rock artists of all time. In his most recent episode (above) he makes the argument for "Panama" as being the Van Halen song that should have topped the charts. "'Panama', … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s Pasadena High ’75 Set Surfaces [Audio]
A recording of Van Halen performing at Pasadena High School in the spring of 1975 has surfaced online. The video (above) posted to YouTube captures soundboard audio of the band in the high school's gymnasium in April of '75. David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony perform a high-energy, eight-song set made up of seven cover songs and one original … [Read more...]
Watch U.S. Soldier’s Guitar Tribute To Eddie Van Halen [VIDEO]
On a day the United States honors its military veterans for their service we also bring you this video featuring a U.S. soldier honoring his guitar hero Eddie Van Halen. United States Army Staff Sergeant Austin West is a recruiter stationed in Watertown, New York. When he's off duty he plays the electric guitar. According to his YouTube "about" page he likes everything from … [Read more...]
Iowa Woman Recalls Her Moment In The Sun With David Lee Roth
Well guess who’s back in circulation? It’s David Lee Roth’s favorite flag girl. Over three decades later she’s returned to let her flag unfurl one more time. Just recently Iowa sports writer Sam Paxton shared a story with the Van Halen News Desk regarding long lost photos and video of David Lee Roth showing up during halftime of an Iowa-Iowa State football game in September … [Read more...]
Hear Never Before Heard Outtakes/Alternate Endings Of Early Van Halen Tracks [VIDEO]
Sunset Sound continued its Van Halen November series with parts 2 and 2.5 of their interview with engineer Brian Kehew. This time Kehew takes us into the studio to hear never before heard outtakes and alternate endings of classic Van Halen tracks. Kehew was hired by Warner Bros. around 2005 as an independent contractor to sort through their archives to find material worthy … [Read more...]
Engineer Brian Kehew Talks Unreleased Van Halen Songs With The Van Halen News Desk
Ah, wow, man. Wait a second, man. Waddaya think “Hot For Teacher” is gonna sound like this time? It’s hard to imagine hearing Van Halen’s classic “Hot For Teacher” and not being able to recite every lyric word for word. Even harder to imagine is hearing the song with an entirely different set of lyrics but that's exactly what engineer Brian Kehew has revealed. In a recent … [Read more...]
Long Lost David Lee Roth Footage Conjures Up Van Halen Memories For Iowa Sportswriter
"Is this Heaven?" "No, it's Iowa. The place where Van Halen dreams come true..." Iowa sportswriter Sam Paxton has earned himself this weekend's MVP of the VHND by scoring long lost video and photos of David Lee Roth from 1986. Paxton is the Night Sports Editor of Iowa's The Gazette and a long-time die-hard Van Halen fan. While recently working on an article for the … [Read more...]
Guitar.com Rembers Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Endless Pursuit Of Perfection’
Guitar.com has posted a tribute to Eddie Van Halen and his endless pursuit of guitar perfection. Writer Tony Bacon began by honoring Eddie's dedication to the instrument he loved. That dedication would go on to influence an entire generation of musicians, industry insiders and manufacturers: "Eddie Van Halen didn't just amaze his fellow guitarists with the remarkable … [Read more...]
How Eddie Van Halen Brought Marty McFly Back To Life In The Future
Forget the DeLorean. Ditch the flux capacitor. Without Eddie Van Halen Marty McFly would never have stood a chance. Syfy writer Adam Pockross found a very clever way to connect his tribute to the greatest guitarist of all time with the greatest sci-fi film of all time: 1985's "Back To The Future". He posted an opinion piece on Syfy's website titled "If Not For Eddie Van … [Read more...]
The L.A. Legacy Of Eddie Van Halen [VIDEO]
Moments after learning of the passing of Eddie Van Halen, Los Angeles news network KTLA spoke to a local music shop owner to get his thoughts on the impact Eddie had the L.A. music scene and beyond. "There are very few people that change the course of modern guitar playing and he was one of them. It's a very sad day but he's left a body of work that will never go away. It … [Read more...]
Fan Honors Eddie Van Halen With Dual-Stylophone Cover Of ‘Eruption’ [VIDEO]
Just when we thought we'd seen every Eddie Van Halen tribute there is to see. Above is a video by musician MaroMaro. He's known for performing covers of classic rock songs using a Stylophone. Invented in 1967 the Stylophone is a miniature analog keyboard operated with a writing utensil called a stylus. To pay tribute to his guitar hero MaroMaro decided to perform Eddie's … [Read more...]
Read L.A. Times First-Ever Van Halen Review, From 1976
In memory of Eddie Van Halen The Los Angeles Times has reached into the archives to share its first ever mention of Van Halen. The band first arrived in the newspaper's print via advertisements that ran alongside the paper's music listings and reviews section which can be seen below: Van Halen earned its earliest editorial mention in a Dec. 18, 1976 L.A. Times story … [Read more...]