Hagar gave the band a maturity that they couldn’t quite attain with David Lee Roth. I enjoyed some elements of their first two albums, 5150 and OU812. I admit the Hagar years produced a more commercially viable sound for the band and it paid off for them. They brought in Sammy Hagar as a replacement and I was like, okay, lets see what this is going to be. But then Dave left the band or he was kicked out, I don’t recall which one. I couldn’t wait to see the band’s performances on MTV and the campy videos for Jump and Hot for Teacher, but I relished in the album’s deeper cuts such as Drop Dead Legs and Top Jimmy. By the time 1984 was released, I was a veteran fan at the age of 13. (The logo, I would later learn, was a knock off from Jimi Hendrix, according to one of Van Halen’s former managers.) A year later, I bought Diver Down (1982), the band’s 5th album and while I didn’t dig it as much as the early Van Halen material, it still featured some amazing tracks. The next morning, I sketched Van Halen’s famous logo on the brown paper bag covers of my school textbooks. That would be the culprit to lure me to the dark side of rock music.
And then there was Eddie Van Halen’s maestro-like mysticism with the electric guitar. David Lee Roth’s raspy, high-pitched vocals. And sure as the Devil would have it, I was possessed. But Van Halen was vouched for by the generous friend mentioned above, so I played the cassette anyway. In fact, the first track on Van Halen’s album was Runnin’ With The Devil and I was afraid I’d end up like that kid, Damian from The Omen.
The bulk of my music knowledge until that point began and ended with whatever spun on local Top 40 FM radio. The album was released in 1978 so I was a few years behind. A classmate handed me a cassette tape of Van Halen’s debut album, which borrowed the band’s name as its title but anyone who’s anyone knows it as Van Halen I. Me: I first learned of Van Halen around 1981. Wife: In all our years together, I never heard you once listen to their music. Wife: What’s with all this Van Halen stuff? Wife: Can you please change the music? I don’t want to listen to Van Halen the entire drive. Wife: Can you please change the music? I don’t want to listen to Van Halen during dinner.
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