Van Halen 2006–present
 As Mammoth: Early Days
In 1972, the Van Halen brothers formed a band. In their early days, Van Halen was called Mammoth, with Eddie Van Halen as lead vocalist and guitarist, Alex Van Halen on drums, and Mark Stone on bass. They rented a sound system from David Lee Roth, but decided they could save money by letting him join the band (Eddie was not keen on singing since it distracted him from his primary talent - the guitar). Roth had previously auditioned unsuccessfully, and ended up forming his own band. By 1974 the band wanted to replace Stone, and Michael Anthony was called over to Roth's father's basement (where the band rehearsed)) to see how he compared. Anthony, bassist and frontman for the band Snake, had heard Mammoth at a festival already. The musicians jammed all night and hired Anthony. He also performed backing vocals.
The band discovered in 1974 that the name Mammoth was already being used and re-named themselves Van Halen. According to Roth's autobiography, he suggested the name based on the timeless quality of it, which he compared to Santana or other acts known by a last name. The renamed band started playing clubs in Pasadena and Hollywood frequently and to growing audiences, increasing their popularity through self promotion: before each gig they would pass out flyers at local high schools in their vicinity. This soon built up a major following.
The band became a staple act on Hollywood's Sunset Strip during the mid-1970s, consistently playing at well known clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go. In 1977 Gene Simmons, from Kiss, saw a Van Halen show and financed their first demo tape, flying the band to the Electric Lady Studios in New York City to record House of Pain and Runnin' With the Devil. Eddie disliked his playing on the demo, because he was not using his own equipment and had to overdub guitar parts. Simmons wanted to change the band's name to Daddy Longlegs and had designed cover art (a daddy longlegs wearing a top hat), but the band stuck with Van Halen. Simmons opted out of further involvement after this.
In 1977, Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman of Warner Bros. records saw Van Halen performing at the Starwood in Hollywood. Although the audience was small, the two were so impressed with Van Halen that within a week they offered them a recording contract, and in October of that year, Van Halen entered Sunset Sound Recorders studio and recorded their eponymous first album.
All of the tracks were laid down in about three weeks, with little over-dubbing or double tracking. Minor mistakes were left on the record and a very simple musical set-up was used to give the record an almost-live feel. After adding vocals, the album was essentially ready to be mixed. Despite its simple components, Van Halen proved innovative in musical technique, production, and arrangement.
Career breakthrough
Van Halen was released to immediate commercial success, reaching #12 on the Billboard pop music charts, one of rock's most commercially successful debuts. It is a highly regarded hard rock album. While it included original songs by the band, such as Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love, Eruption, and Runnin' With The Devil, the album also featured covers of the Kinks' song You Really Got Me and John Brim's Ice Cream Man.
The band toured for nearly a year, opening for Black Sabbath and establishing a reputation as a talented and exciting live band. The band's early chemistry came out of a contrast between Eddie Van Halen's technical wizardry and David Lee Roth's flamboyant antics, a rivalry that would later erupt into full-blown conflict. They returned to the studio in 1979 for Van Halen II, similar in style to their debut. This album yielded the band's first hit single, Dance The Night Away.
Over the next few years, the band alternated album releases and touring to increasing commercial and critical acclaim. By 1980, Van Halen was one of the world's most successful and influential rock bands. Their party-loving spirit and hard rocking anthem-like sound made them popular with teenagers. Women and Children First was released in 1980, further cementing Van Halen's status with popular songs like And the Cradle Will Rock... and Everybody Wants Some!!. Despite success, in 1981, during the recording of their fourth album, Fair Warning, tensions rose. Eddie Van Halen's desire to experiment with more serious and complex songs was at odds with Roth's poppy style and cartoonish persona. Although Roth (and producer Templeman) acquiesced to Eddie's wishes, Fair Warning was a sales disappointment, with no hits. In later interviews Eddie would reveal that he was struggling with alcoholism during the production of Fair Warning and the darker tone of the music was because of his own conflict.
Diver Down performed better and at the end of the supporting tour the band earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest-paid single appearance of a band: $1 million for a 90 minute set at the 1983 US Festival.
Amidst the success, tensions were slowly but surely dividing the band. Roth and Eddie's stylistic differences continued. According to a Classic Rock Revisited interview with bassist Billy Sheehan, after his band Talas completed a tour opening for Van Halen, he was approached by Eddie Van Halen to replace Michael Anthony. The reasons for this were never clear to Sheehan, but ultimately nothing came out of those talks.
Departure of Roth
Cover art for the hit single Panama (1984) - latter-day photo of the original lineup. Left to right: Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Michael AnthonyVan Halen's next album, 1984 (released on January 9, 1984) was their commercial pinnacle, and often considered artistic peak too. Recorded at Eddie Van Halen's newly-built 5150 Studios, it prominently used keyboards, previously heard only rarely. The lead single, Jump, featured a bouncy synthesizer hook and anthemic lyrics, and became the band's first and only #1 pop hit, garnering them a Grammy nomination.. Other hit singles included Panama, I'll Wait, and Hot For Teacher. This more commercial style and use of keyboards softened the sound, moving it away from the band's hard rock roots. Many of the songs had popular music videos on MTV , especially Hot For Teacher, which featured a scantily clad model playing the part of an elementary-school teacher and school-age boys portraying younger versions of the band. 1984 was praised by critics and fans alike , peaking at #2 on the Billboard charts behind Thriller by Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen played the guitar solo on the hit song Beat It, on that album).
However, the album was also a breaking point. In the midst of the tour, the artistic and personal tensions among the musicians reached a fever pitch. Reasons for the breakup vary based on the band member interviewed, but were rooted in control of the band's sound and image. Roth was upset about Eddie playing music outside of Van Halen without checking with the band and Eddie was sick of Roth's flamboyant behavior and stage persona. On April 1 1985, Roth left Van Halen.
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