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Alex Van Halen
Alexander Arthur Van Halen (/væn ˈheɪlən/ van HAY-len, Dutch: [aːlɛkˈsɑndər vɑn ˈɦaːlə(n)]; born May 8, 1953) is an American retired musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie under the name "Mammoth" before adding Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth in 1974 and changing their name to Van Halen.
Warner Bros. signed the band in 1977, and the band's debut album was released a year later. Prior to their disbandment in 2020, following Eddie's death, Van Halen released 12 studio albums, and the brothers were the only two constant members of the band. Noted for his technical prowess, speed, and power, Alex Van Halen is widely regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.[citation needed]
Van Halen was born in Amsterdam. The family name in Dutch is van Halen (with lower-case 'v') and is pronounced in Dutch as [vɑn ˈɦaːlə(n)]. His Dutch father, Jan van Halen (1920–1986), was an accomplished jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. His mother, Eugenia van Beers (1914–2005), was an Indo (Eurasian) from Rangkasbitung, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Alex spent his early years in Nijmegen in the east of the Netherlands. The family moved to Pasadena, California, in 1962. The Dutch prefix "van" was capitalized by Alex's parents during the family's immigration to the US. Alex and his brother Eddie became naturalized U.S. citizens.
Both brothers were trained as classical pianists during childhood. Although Alex is known as a professional drummer, he began his musical aspirations as a guitarist, with his brother Eddie taking up drums. While Eddie was delivering newspapers to pay for his drum kit, Alex would practice playing on them. After spending some time playing Eddie's drum kit, Alex became more skilled than Eddie was as a drummer. After Eddie heard Alex's mastery of The Surfaris drum solo in the song "Wipe Out", he decided to learn to play the electric guitar. Alex was influenced by Budgie drummer Ray Phillips.
Alex, Eddie and three other boys formed their first band, calling themselves "The Broken Combs", while attending Hamilton Elementary School in Pasadena, in which Alex played saxophone. When Eddie was in the fourth grade, they performed at lunchtime at the school.
In 1971, Van Halen graduated from Pasadena High School. He then took classes in music theory, scoring, composition and arranging at Pasadena City College for a short while. While there, Alex met Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth. They formed the band Mammoth, and Alex, along with the others, left Pasadena City College.
Alex and Eddie Van Halen had several early bands before the formation of Van Halen. In addition to The Broken Combs, there were The Space Brothers, The Trojan Rubber Company, and Mammoth.
In 1972, the brothers formed Mammoth with Mark Stone on bass and Eddie on lead vocals. The band rented David Lee Roth's PA system for their shows. Soon after, Eddie became tired of singing lead, and asked Roth to join the band. Later, in 1974, since the name Mammoth was already taken by another band, the name was changed to Van Halen, and Stone was replaced by Michael Anthony. Roth has claimed that it was his idea to rename the band Van Halen, and that he actually named it after Alex. In addition to his musical duties at this time, Alex handled managerial duties, such as booking gigs, and the like for the band. Their 1978 self-titled debut album Van Halen was released to much fanfare, influencing many musicians in hard rock. Van Halen had released eleven more studio albums since then, and officially disbanded a month after Eddie's death on October 6, 2020.
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Alex Van Halen
Alexander Arthur Van Halen (/væn ˈheɪlən/ van HAY-len, Dutch: [aːlɛkˈsɑndər vɑn ˈɦaːlə(n)]; born May 8, 1953) is an American retired musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie under the name "Mammoth" before adding Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth in 1974 and changing their name to Van Halen.
Warner Bros. signed the band in 1977, and the band's debut album was released a year later. Prior to their disbandment in 2020, following Eddie's death, Van Halen released 12 studio albums, and the brothers were the only two constant members of the band. Noted for his technical prowess, speed, and power, Alex Van Halen is widely regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.[citation needed]
Van Halen was born in Amsterdam. The family name in Dutch is van Halen (with lower-case 'v') and is pronounced in Dutch as [vɑn ˈɦaːlə(n)]. His Dutch father, Jan van Halen (1920–1986), was an accomplished jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. His mother, Eugenia van Beers (1914–2005), was an Indo (Eurasian) from Rangkasbitung, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Alex spent his early years in Nijmegen in the east of the Netherlands. The family moved to Pasadena, California, in 1962. The Dutch prefix "van" was capitalized by Alex's parents during the family's immigration to the US. Alex and his brother Eddie became naturalized U.S. citizens.
Both brothers were trained as classical pianists during childhood. Although Alex is known as a professional drummer, he began his musical aspirations as a guitarist, with his brother Eddie taking up drums. While Eddie was delivering newspapers to pay for his drum kit, Alex would practice playing on them. After spending some time playing Eddie's drum kit, Alex became more skilled than Eddie was as a drummer. After Eddie heard Alex's mastery of The Surfaris drum solo in the song "Wipe Out", he decided to learn to play the electric guitar. Alex was influenced by Budgie drummer Ray Phillips.
Alex, Eddie and three other boys formed their first band, calling themselves "The Broken Combs", while attending Hamilton Elementary School in Pasadena, in which Alex played saxophone. When Eddie was in the fourth grade, they performed at lunchtime at the school.
In 1971, Van Halen graduated from Pasadena High School. He then took classes in music theory, scoring, composition and arranging at Pasadena City College for a short while. While there, Alex met Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth. They formed the band Mammoth, and Alex, along with the others, left Pasadena City College.
Alex and Eddie Van Halen had several early bands before the formation of Van Halen. In addition to The Broken Combs, there were The Space Brothers, The Trojan Rubber Company, and Mammoth.
In 1972, the brothers formed Mammoth with Mark Stone on bass and Eddie on lead vocals. The band rented David Lee Roth's PA system for their shows. Soon after, Eddie became tired of singing lead, and asked Roth to join the band. Later, in 1974, since the name Mammoth was already taken by another band, the name was changed to Van Halen, and Stone was replaced by Michael Anthony. Roth has claimed that it was his idea to rename the band Van Halen, and that he actually named it after Alex. In addition to his musical duties at this time, Alex handled managerial duties, such as booking gigs, and the like for the band. Their 1978 self-titled debut album Van Halen was released to much fanfare, influencing many musicians in hard rock. Van Halen had released eleven more studio albums since then, and officially disbanded a month after Eddie's death on October 6, 2020.
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