Widespread success tends to magnify internal band strife, as we've seen often in the Rock Era, and Van Halen is no exception. The tensions between Eddie and Roth grew, and David Lee recorded a solo EP that generated a #3 hit, a remake of the Beach Boys' "California Girls". Roth soon was out of Van Halen.
Meanwhile, Sammy Hagar's star was on the rise. A former member of Montrose, Hagar was coming off the hit "I Can't Drive 55", and accepted an offer to replace Roth and also play rhythm guitar for the group.
Hagar's first album with the group, 5150 in 1986, continued Van Halen's momentum and went to #1 on the Album chart. It has sold over six million copies. It gave the group a #1 Mainstream Rock hit that also crossed over to #3 on the Popular chart--"Why Can't This Be Love".
New lead singer, same result--once again, the band was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock, Duo or Group and they were also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the American Music Awards. "Dreams" landed in the Top 10 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Though it peaked at #22 overall, "Love Walks In" was another Top 10 with Van Halen's rock base.
Hagar made an immediate contribution on songs like "Best Of Both Worlds", which also features another amazing riff from Eddie.
Roth was long gone, but the group could still party anthems, as evidenced by "Summer Nights".
In 1988, Van Halen released the album OU812, another four-million seller for the group. The single "When It's Love" raced to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart and made it to #5 overall.
The band was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group, Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist and Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album at the American Music Awards. "Finish What Ya' Started" stopped just short of the Top 10 at #13, though it reached #2 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
In 1992, the group released another #1 album, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. "Runaround" gave Van Halen their seventh career #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge has sold over three million copies in the U.S. alone. "Top Of The World" also hit #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
"Right Now" was another big Mainstream Rock hit at #2. The video for "Right Now" won MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year and was nominated for seven awards, including Best Group Video, Best Rock Video, Breakthrough Video and Viewer's Choice.
The band won the American Music Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album and they were also nominated for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist. The album was recognized at the Grammy Awards for Best Hard Rock Performance.
The band won the American Music Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album and they were also nominated for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist. The album was recognized at the Grammy Awards for Best Hard Rock Performance.
Van Halen released the live album Live: Right Here, Right Now, a two million seller, prior to releasing the studio album Balance in 1995. They opened for Bon Jovi on their European tour, helping to sell over three million copies of Balance. "Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)" jumped to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
The group was once again nominated for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist at the American Music Awards and the song "Seventh Seal" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards.
Van Halen released the compilation Best Of - Volume I in 1996, which has sold over three million copies.
But while recording songs for the movie Twister, tensions between Hagar and the Van Halen brothers reached a head, and Hagar left. One of the songs Eddie and Alex recorded by themselves for the project, "Respect The Wind", was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
The group planned a compilation album, and during planning, Roth called Eddie to talk about which tracks would be on the album. The talks went well, and soon Roth reunited with the group to record two new songs for the album.
But, unbeknownst to Roth, Van Halen had not decided to permanently welcome their former lead singer into the fold and continued to audition other singers for the position. The appearance of all four original members at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards led to speculation by fans and critics that a full reunion was in the works. But it was not to be.
Eddie said later that he had been embarrassed by the antics of Roth while the group waited behind Beck, who was giving an acceptance speech for an award that Van Halen had presented to him. At a press conference afterwards, reporters asked Eddie if a reunion was on. Van Halen said he had to first get a hip replacement and then the group would have to record a new album before a tour was possible. Afterwards, Roth scolded Eddie for mentioning his hip and the argument nearly erupted into a fistfight.
Van Halen turned to Gary Cherone, former lead singer of Extreme, and together, the new lineup recorded the album Van Halen III in 1998. Anthony later stated that he recorded on just three tracks on the album, with Eddie filling in bass parts on the rest. While the tour took the group to Australia and New Zealand for the first time, attendance was sub-par compared to earlier Van Halen efforts.
Van Halen set out to record a new album in 1999, but Cherone left late in the year due to musical differences.
While Eddie recovered from hip surgery, the group did not release any material from 2000 to 2004. Van Halen worked with Roth on new songs but the old friendship was gone.
Van Halen was dropped from Warner Brothers, and in 2002, Eddie successfully was treated for cancer.
In 2004, the band released the compilation album The Best of Both Worlds, another million seller and Hagar rejoined the group for a summer tour of the United States. The tour was long overdue news for Van Halen fans, and the group scored one of the top 10-grossing tours of the year.
That reunion was also short-lived as Hagar left the group to work on his own projects. Anthony, too, was on the outs and did not participate on the album Best of Both Worlds. In 2006, Eddie's son Wolfgang replaced Anthony on bass.
In 2007, Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and shortly after, Roth reunited with the group for a U.S. tour, which extended into 2008 and grossed nearly $93 million. To his great credit, Eddie, whose alcohol problems had played a role in difficulties within the group, successfully completed rehab.
The next year, Eddie had surgery on his left hand after feeling pain in his fingers during the tour.
In 2011, Van Halen recorded their first studio album since 1998 and their first to feature Roth in 27 years.
The result was the album A Different Kind of Truth, released in 2012 on Interscope Records. The album debuted at #2 in the United States and peaked at #6 in the U.K.
A tour was cut short, and in August, Eddie underwent surgery for diverticulitis. In 2015, Van Halen toured North America on a 39-date project.
The group was once again nominated for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist at the American Music Awards and the song "Seventh Seal" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards.
But while recording songs for the movie Twister, tensions between Hagar and the Van Halen brothers reached a head, and Hagar left. One of the songs Eddie and Alex recorded by themselves for the project, "Respect The Wind", was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
The group planned a compilation album, and during planning, Roth called Eddie to talk about which tracks would be on the album. The talks went well, and soon Roth reunited with the group to record two new songs for the album.
Eddie said later that he had been embarrassed by the antics of Roth while the group waited behind Beck, who was giving an acceptance speech for an award that Van Halen had presented to him. At a press conference afterwards, reporters asked Eddie if a reunion was on. Van Halen said he had to first get a hip replacement and then the group would have to record a new album before a tour was possible. Afterwards, Roth scolded Eddie for mentioning his hip and the argument nearly erupted into a fistfight.
Van Halen set out to record a new album in 1999, but Cherone left late in the year due to musical differences.
While Eddie recovered from hip surgery, the group did not release any material from 2000 to 2004. Van Halen worked with Roth on new songs but the old friendship was gone.
Van Halen was dropped from Warner Brothers, and in 2002, Eddie successfully was treated for cancer.
That reunion was also short-lived as Hagar left the group to work on his own projects. Anthony, too, was on the outs and did not participate on the album Best of Both Worlds. In 2006, Eddie's son Wolfgang replaced Anthony on bass.
The next year, Eddie had surgery on his left hand after feeling pain in his fingers during the tour.
The result was the album A Different Kind of Truth, released in 2012 on Interscope Records. The album debuted at #2 in the United States and peaked at #6 in the U.K.
On October 6, 2020, Wolfgang announced that Eddie, one of the greatest guitarists in history, had died of cancer, just ten days after original bassist Mark Stone had succumbed to the same deadly disease.
In addition to the influence of their music, Van Halen is famous for the presence of concert technical contract riders. The band included specific requirements for the availability of power and stage construction details in these riders. The band demanded that a bowl of M&M's candy, with all of the brown M&M's removed, was to be placed in their dressing room. They did this not to make outrageous demands but rather to make sure that the contract had been thoroughly read and adhered to. During earlier tours, some of their equipment had been damaged due to improper power and members of the band's road crew were nearly electrocuted due to safety measures not being followed.
Van Halen scored 23 career hits, with three of them reaching the Top 10 and one #1. The group's hold on Rock audiences was uncanny, charting 47 hits on the Mainstream Rock chart, with a sensational 26 of those landing in the Top 10 and 13 #1 songs with that crowd.
Van Halen is one of five groups to have two studio albums sell over 10 million units in the U.S. In all, the group has been rewarded with 14 Gold albums, with 13 of those going Platinum, 12 selling two million or more units, 10 going over three million, six selling over four million and four going over the five-million mark. All told, Van Halen has sold over 80 million records.
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