Explore the extraordinary history of Van Halen through the groundbreaking band’s 50 most important moments, brought to vivid life with photos and memorabilia. Formed in Southern California in 1974, Van Halen became one of the best-selling bands in rock history and one of the highest-grossing tour acts with their rock-solid rhythm section, the histrionics of outrageous frontman David Lee Roth, and the wildly inventive and until-then unimaginable guitar heroics of Eddie Van Halen. In Van Halen at 50, prolific rock journalist Martin Popoff pays tribute to the band on the occasion of their 50th anniversary by curating 50 significant milestones, from their formation in 1974 to the passing of Eddie Van Valen in 2020. This volume features: Stunning concert and candid offstage photography Images of memorabilia, including gig posters, vinyl record sleeves, ticket stubs, period ads, and more Van Halen timeline Across five decades, Popoff covers it all: The band’s formation in Pasadena, California, and early years as a So-Cal party band 13 best-selling studio albums and the tours undertaken in support of the LPs The departure of Roth and his replacement by “The Red Rocker” Sammy Hagar Notable appearances like Texxas Jam, Farm Aid, and Monsters of Rock A selection of their greatest singles, like the classic-rock standards “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Hot for Teacher,” “Jump,” and “Why Can’t This Be Love?” Awards such as MTV Music Video Awards, platinum and diamond album certifications, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Eddie Van Halen’s battle with cancer Bassist Michael Anthony’s replacement by Eddie’s son, Wolfgang In addition, Popoff includes a selection of sidebars covering specialized topics like Eddie’s finger-tapping technique, the band’s album art, and the eternal Dave vs. Sammy question. Every page is illustrated with incredible images, including on- and off-stage photography, gig posters, 7-inch picture sleeves, ticket stubs, and more. The result is an apt tribute to one of the most popular bands in rock history.

From their eponymous 1978 debut through their colossal 1984 album (they've sold over 75 million albums worldwide), Van Halen rewrote all the rules. Nobody rockedor partiedharder. Photographer Neil Zlozower first met the band in 1978, worked with them again on Van Halen II, and soon became their friend, hanging out in L.A. and hitting the road on tour with them. Van Halen collects more than 250 backstage, candid, and full rock-out photos of the all-powerful, spandexed, high-kicking, guitar blazing, stadium-shaking, original Van Halen lineup. Accompanying Zlozower's amazing photos are an introduction about his wild ride with VH, a foreword by David Lee Roth, and testimony from the rock pantheon paying homage to the band, including members of Led Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, KISS, Motley Cre, and more. Turn it up!

Van Halen at 50 is the lively and stunningly illustrated story of the legendary rock band told through 50 seismic releases, appearances, and other milestones.

A vivid and energetic history of Van Halen's legendary early years After years of playing gigs everywhere from suburban backyards to dive bars, Van Halen — led by frontman extraordinaire David Lee Roth and guitar virtuoso Edward Van Halen — had the songs, the swagger, and the talent to turn the rock world on its ear. The quartet's classic 1978 debut, Van Halen, sold more than a million copies within months of release and rocketed the band to the stratosphere of rock success. On tour, Van Halen's high-energy show wowed audiences and prompted headlining acts like Black Sabbath to concede that they'd been blown off the stage. By the year's end, Van Halen had established themselves as superstars and reinvigorated heavy metal in the process. Based on more than 230 original interviews — including with former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and power players like Pete Angelus, Marshall Berle, Donn Landee, Ted Templeman, and Neil Zlozower — Van Halen Rising reveals the untold story of how these rock legends made the unlikely journey from Pasadena, California, to the worldwide stage.

Get a completely new look at guitar legend Eddie Van Halen with this groundbreaking oral history, composed of more than fifty hours of interviews with Eddie himself as well as his family, friends, and colleagues. When rock legend Eddie Van Halen died of cancer on October 6, 2020, the entire world seemed to stop and grieve. Since his band Van Halen burst onto the scene with their self-titled debut album in 1978, Eddie had been hailed as an icon not only to fans of rock music and heavy metal, but to performers across all genres and around the world. Van Halen’s debut sounded unlike anything that listeners had heard before and remains a quintessential rock album of the era. Over the course of more than four decades, Eddie gained renown for his innovative guitar playing, and particularly for popularizing the tapping guitar solo technique. Unfortunately for Eddie and his legions of fans, he died before he was ever able to put his life down to paper in his own words, and much of his compelling backstory has remained elusive—until now. In Eruption, music journalists Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill share with fans, new and old alike, a candid, compulsively readable, and definitive oral history of the most influential rock guitarist since Jimi Hendrix. It is based on more than 50+ hours of unreleased interviews they recorded with Eddie Van Halen over the years, most of them conducted at the legendary 5150 studios at Ed’s home in Los Angeles. The heart of Eruption is drawn from these intimate and wide-ranging talks, as well as conversations with family, friends, and colleagues. In addition to discussing his greatest triumphs as a groundbreaking musician, including an unprecedented dive into Van Halen’s masterpiece 1984, the book also takes an unflinching look at Edward’s early struggles as young Dutch immigrant unable to speak the English language, which resulted in lifelong issues with social anxiety and substance abuse. Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen also examines his brilliance as an inventor who changed the face of guitar manufacturing. As entertaining as it is revealing, Eruption is the closest readers will ever get to hearing Eddie’s side of the story when it comes to his extraordinary life.

(Book). This is the second installment in the Modern Drummer Legends series. It includes Alex's 1983, 1993, and 2008 Modern Drummer cover stories along with transcriptions of classic Van Halen tracks, beats, and fills. It also includes a survey of the evolution of his famous live drumkits as well as a deep dive into his unique snare sound and an exclusive brand-new 2020 interview.

A revelatory, fly-on-the-wall collection of photographs and stories documenting Eddie Van Halen at work in his famed but seldom seen 5150 studio, from the 2004 reunion with Sammy Hagar through the 2007 reunion with David Lee Roth. “When kids ask me how it feels to be a rock star, I say, ‘I’m not a rock star. I’m not in it for the fame, I’m in it because I like to play.’” Eddie Van Halen A fortuitous call from a stranger in the middle of the night led to a once-in-a-lifetime assignment. The stranger was Eddie Van Halen. The assignment, as Eddie related it, was to “capture the truth. Show people how hard I work, because that’s the truth.” Having no idea where this would lead or in what form it might be shared, Andrew Bennett spent portions of the next two years relentlessly documenting everything that occurred inside Eddie’s sanctuary: from rehearsals, recording sessions, and revealing conversations, to vicious arguments, a brotherly brawl, and a wild heist attempt in the middle of the night. Bennett memorialized every square foot of that sacred space, every piece of equipment, and every guitar—including Eddie’s beloved Frankenstrat. Featuring more than two hundred photographs, and accompanied by intimate reflections on what the author witnessed, Eruption in the Canyon presents an incomparable portrait of one of the most revered artists in history.