Eddie's History

The History of Eddie Van Halen

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was born on January 26th, 1955 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The second son born to his father Jan Van Halen (who was a jazz and classical musician) and his mother Eugenia Van Halen. The first son being Eddie's older brother, Alex Arthur Van Halen. in 1962, the Halen's moved to Pasadena California to escape the mistreatment of mixed-race couples since Eugenia was of Indonesian Descent and Jan being of Dutch Descent. However, the mistreatment was just as bad, if not worse, in America at the time. Kids had bullied the brothers frequently. Due to them not knowing english and being of a different race. And because of this, the bond of the two brothers became inseperable. Both Jan and Eugenia had to take on jobs of cleaning or being a musician for hire. However, it was music that kept the family stable and safe. Alex and Eddie were always fascinated by Rock. This led to them purchasing a guitar and drum set. Although Alex started playing the guitar, and Ed the drums. The two swapped when Alex hand gotten better on the drums than Ed. Thus began Van Halen (Or should I say: "Mammoth"). Over the years, the brothers had created several bands with different members, but what stuck longer was "Mammoth". Eventually, They'd meet David Lee Roth, a rambunctious frontman. And it was Dave's idea to name the band "Van Halen", and the brothers agreed. They would also hear about Michael Anthony, a booming bassist with an absurd vocal range. When asked to join, he too said yes. After years of bar-to-bar gigs, they got their break in 1977, and produced their debut album in 1978. After a soaring success, they would go on to make 5 more albums (Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, Diver Down, and 1984). In 1981, he even married actor Valerie Bertinello. But creative conflict would enter when Fair Warning was created and worsened for Diver Down. 1984 would be the final album David would sing in for Van Halen. After the dust had settled, Sammy Hagar, another crazy-creative frontman AND guitarist would join them as their singer. With this change, their albums "5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Balance", all being number one platinum albums. It was also at this time that his son, Wolfgang Van Halen, was born. But creative conflict rose again, and Sammy had departed. Enter Gary Cherone (Now frontman for Extreme). With the album "Van Halen III", it unfortunately flopped due to colliding styles. In 2004, Sammy Hagar and the rest of the band decided to do a reunion tour... That did not go well at all... At this point, Eddie was so deep into drugs, alcohol, and smoking, the rest of the band didn't recognize him. Truly, this was his lowest point. All thanks to a cigarette and a bottle of booze he was given at age 12 to soothe his anxiety. It was also at this point he had tongue cancer due to his unhealthy consumptions of said substances previously. He knew he needed to change... He enrolled into rehab for many reasons, but the most important one being to set a good example for his son. In 2012, Eddie had the biggest comback of his life. Drug, alcohol, and smoke free. And their latest album, A Different Kind of Truth, received positive feedback. But his cancer would return... In October 6, 2020. His death was heard all around the world... A rock legend had deceased that day. Albeit he may be gone, we truly were lucky to be around for his out-of-this-world, innovative ideas. Farewell, Eddie.

You're not dead, God just wanted some guitar lessons 😁