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1983: A Day With Eddie Van Halen in Rio

October 24, 2012 —by VHND Leave a Comment

From Playadelnacho.com :

This is an article originally conceived in Portuguese by Brazilian journalist LUIZ ANTONIO MELLO, translated by me [English is not my first language, so bear with me] for your entertainment. Basically, these are his memoirs from a day with EDDIE VAN HALEN back in 1983, during the infamous –and only  EVER-  Van Halen South American Tour. Photos posted here are courtesy of a dude named ‘Bolivia’, which somehow collected a lot of the Sao Paulo and Rio concerts, which explains why most photos have the ‘Bolivia’ print, despite displaying concerts in Brazil. A fun read.

I left the ladies [we could not reach a financial agreement] and got back. By the fifth or sixth cachaça shot Eddie bent, I started go worry. He had a concert later that night. What if he fell down? What if he went into an alcoholic coma? I signed at him like ‘take it easy’, and said ‘slow, Eddie, slow’. He laughed with even more Chinese eyes. By pure lack of what to say, I said ‘all greatest cowboys have Chinese eyes’, which is nothing less than Pete Townshend’s solo album, just arrived in Brazil.

Summing it up, after about tem [TEN, 10!!!] shots [not those small ones, more like coffee cup-sized], the guitar player left the bar stepping on the asphalt with the precision of a circus high wire artist. He looked like a mix between João Bosco and Aldir Blanc [two notorious Brazilian bossa nova musicians]. The bad thing was, the tab was mine.

Eddie walked straight, headed to Leme [a Rio hood – tourists, Leme lies to the left of those headed ocean-bound] and spoke little, about the Record he was planning on doing with Brian May, a great friend, of Queen fame. That record was released. Recorded like shit. ‘we’ll set up the guitars, the amps, crank it up and jam’, said Eddie, who showed mood swings, and eventually started blabbering incoherently, but keeping the lucidity of someone who drinks Atalaia Jurubeba [a sort or medicinal syrup] and not 10 glasses of assorted kinds of cachaça.

Actually, by 1984, I think an absolutely killer vinyl Record from Brian and Eddie was released. A hard blues jam, which name I forgot, for I lost that album. I noticed that Eddie was not doing so well and could no longer bear singer David Lee Roth’s ego, who spent the nights at the hotel hiring escorts [he had FIFTEEN go up to his room in one occasion], but all he did was stay on the phone and snort cocaine. Sexual marketing. The most sordid details are told in my book “A Onda Maldita” [www.aondamaldita.com.br].

I also felt that Eddie had bumped sideways with his brother Alex, a monumental drummer, and according to local security [gossipers as usual], Alex was picking hard on Eddie because of booze. ‘Playing is my business’, he said as we headed back to the hotel as he meant ‘I can’t’ stand this band leader shit, it’s a pain in the ass’. He got in the hotel and I only saw him again at the Maracanazinho stage.

Van Halen opened the first show with the orgasmic ‘Hear About It Later’. Right from the first chords, the attendants at the 18 first rows went down, all passed out with their eardrums ripped. Alex ‘Porco’ Valdez sent the production crew back in Los Angeles a map of the Maracana Stadium, and they rigged a P.A. designed for stadiums [120,000 capacity Maracana] to Maracanazinho [a 12,000 capacity indoor sports arena].

Accidentally, I watched the shows from the upper bleachers, and I could hear ambulances in my head for Five days. But what amazed me the most was how a plastered Eddie could really, really, really play!!!!!

But of course, destiny sent a waiter with the tab. In 2000, it was announced that Eddie had cancer. Back then, I wrote for the Rocknet web site and read the news here [at Whiplash!].  Rocknet was produced at the El Sonoro Studio, owned by Filipe Melo, the greatest Jimi Hendrix interpreter I ever heard [[email protected]] and an extraordinary human being.

I read the article and left. I went for a walk, pissed, sad, thinking of Eddie. Or of Eddie’s demise. Another one to go up. My head spinned, I thought about the data supplied by a news agency which accounted more than 300 rockers deceased from 1954 to 2000. Causes:  1] car or bike crash; 2] cirrhosis, pancreatitis, multiple organ failure; 3] heroin and cocaine overdose. And so on. Would Eddie make the list?

I followed all related news here at Whiplash. When Eddie left the headlines [actually the headlines left him alone], I noticed something good had happened. Some miraculous cure no doctor could explain. And Duvivier street Eddie Will be back in July, rocking at 48 years of age. And the sickle carrying, white-faced lady in black didn’t take him. After all, the world needs its Eddies, its singled-faced, humble people, and music in its veins.”

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“When I first played Jump for the guys nobody wanted anything to do with it. Dave said I was a guitar hero and I shouldn’t be playing keyboards”: The story of Van Halen’s 1984 – the Flying V, the synths and the end of the David Lee Roth era

Creative differences led to Roth’s departure the following year, but 1984 found the band firing on all cylinders, as Eddie Van Halen embraced his pop sensibilities while retaining the musical adventurism that made him the greatest of all time

George Orwell’s novel 1984 envisioned a dystopian future where totalitarian governments ruled the world, and the average person’s attempts to enjoy even the slightest personal pleasure were patrolled and punished by the Thought Police in service of Big Brother. 

However, when mankind finally reached that symbolic year, the prevailing atmosphere was more of a hedonistic non-stop party than a period of peril. We have the power of the mighty Van Halen to thank for much of that. 

Considered by many – including Eddie Van Halen himself – as the band’s masterpiece, 1984 was one of Van Halen’s best-selling albums and one of the best-selling rock albums of the entire ’80s. 

It has earned RIAA Diamond certification for surpassing 10 million units sold – a feat the band only matched with their 1978 debut album, with the two perfectly bookending the beginning and end of Van Halen’s classic era with David Lee Roth fronting the band.

Clocking in at a lean 33 minutes and 22 seconds, 1984 was, as the saying goes, all killer and no filler. Even the best-selling album of all-time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller , can’t make that boast (does anyone even remember Baby Be Mine and The Lady in My Life ?). 1984 produced an impressive string of four hit singles, with Jump delivering Van Halen’s only Number 1 charting hit single in the band’s entire career. 

Panama and I’ll Wait both peaked at Number 13, and Hot for Teacher came in at a not-too-shabby Number 56. Even the album’s “deep” tracks – Top Jimmy , Drop Dead Legs , Girl Gone Bad and House of Pain – were scorchers too hot for the Top 40, but found a welcoming home on more adventurous FM station playlists. 

The only outlier is the album’s title track, but Ed’s solo synth performance perfectly set the mood as a brief overture that boldly introduced Van Halen’s brave new world.

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Future Control

With 40 years of hindsight, it’s tempting to look back and conclude that the phenomenal popularity of 1984 was primarily due to it being the perfect album released at the perfect time.

However, its success also benefited significantly from several years of extremely hard work leading up to its release, along with a series of high-profile events that brought Van Halen prominently into the public’s awareness.

Van Halen staked a claim as the biggest band in the world when they headlined “Heavy Metal Day” on May 29, 1983, at the US Festival, performing in front of an estimated audience of 375,000

During the early ’80s, Van Halen had become one of the world’s biggest touring acts. The band sold out every single one of its 83 shows in the United States and Canada on its 1982 Hide Your Sheep tour, and in early 1983 they made their first ever appearances in South America during a month-long leg that introduced the band to thousands of rabid fans.

A few months later, Van Halen staked a claim as the biggest band in the world when they headlined “Heavy Metal Day” on May 29, 1983, at the US Festival, performing in front of an estimated audience of 375,000 – Van Halen’s largest audience ever. Their fee for the US Festival gig was $1.5 million, setting a new world record at the time.

Van Halen was also experiencing a significant upward trajectory in record sales. 1984 ’s predecessor, Diver Down , was a commercial success thanks in large part to the hit status of the 1982 single (Oh) Pretty Woman , which peaked at Number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

The only previous time that Van Halen cracked the Top 20 was when Dance the Night Away reached Number 15, and that was all the way back in 1979. From their debut effort onward, each album that Van Halen released charted higher than its predecessor, with Diver Down peaking at Number 3 compared to Fair Warning ’s top position at Number 5.

Ed’s charming, down-to-earth demeanor won over many new fans who would have been shocked by the raucous atmosphere at a typical Van Halen concert, let alone the band’s backstage antics

Van Halen’s tour, album and single statistics were notable, but what truly catapulted the band into the public limelight was Ed’s increasing celebrity status, even though the guitarist never sought the spotlight and was never comfortable with being called a rock star.

His marriage to popular television actress Valerie Bertinelli led to appearances on mainstream prime time shows like Entertainment Tonight , making the Van Halen name a household word. Ed’s charming, down-to-earth demeanor won over many new fans who would have been shocked by the raucous atmosphere at a typical Van Halen concert, let alone the band’s backstage antics.

But perhaps the biggest turning point that made Ed a bona fide celebrity was his guest appearance on Michael Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller , on Beat It . Jackson wanted to record a rock song, and he knew that getting the world’s most popular guitarist to play a solo would introduce and endear the singer to an entirely new audience. 

What Ed didn’t realize at the time was that his performance on Thriller would similarly cause Jackson’s fans to notice Van Halen. Beat It went on to top the charts worldwide, and those 33 seconds of shredding guitar bliss became an immortal symbol of the most enduring cultural crossover of pop, R&B and rock.

Eddie didn’t want his name to appear on Thriller ’s credits, mainly to keep the session a secret from his bandmates, but there was no mistaking who performed that solo. 

Despite his request to remain incognito, record company and musician’s union agreements led to his name appearing four times in the liner notes, and his wife Valerie and engineer Donn Landee, who had recorded every Van Halen to date, also were thanked for good measure.

It didn’t matter anyways as David Lee Roth immediately knew it was Ed the first time he heard Beat It blaring from a car stereo in a 7-Eleven parking lot. 

Brave New World

Edward Van Halen’s creative inspiration increasingly grew during the early ’80s as he broadened his horizons into new musical styles and techniques and explored instruments beyond the guitar.

While he was initially pleased with Van Halen’s fifth album, Diver Down , he wasn’t happy with the rapid-fire approach to the sessions, which were completed in a mad rush over a period of 12 days. 

On the band’s previous album, Fair Warning , Ed had finally become comfortable with spending considerably more time recording and crafting multiple guitar tracks in the studio while also experimenting with a broader palette of guitar tones. He felt that the slam-bang live performance blueprint used on Diver Down was a regression to the band’s first three albums, and the outcome left him creatively unsatisfied.

“I was always butting heads with (producer) Ted Templeman about what makes a good record,” Van Halen said in 2014. “ Diver Down was a turning point for me because half of it was cover tunes. When we made Fair Warning I spent a lot more time with [engineer] Donn Landee working on my sound. I became much more involved in the recording process. 

“To me, Fair Warning was more true to what I am and what I believe Van Halen is. We’re a hard rock band, and we were an album band. I like odd things. I was not a pop guy, even though I have a good sense of how to write a pop song. When we started work on 1984 I wanted to ram it up Ted’s poop chute and show him that we could make a great record without any cover tunes and do it our way.”

In order to be able to do things his way, Ed took dominant control of the creative reins by building a professional multitrack studio at home in 1982. Initially, the plan was to build a studio for recording demos, but as work progressed the guitarist realized that, with Landee working by his side, he could record Van Halen’s next album there.

I did not set out to build a full-blown studio. I just wanted a better place to put my music together so I could show it to the guys Eddie Van Halen

“I did not set out to build a full-blown studio,” Ed admitted. “I just wanted a better place to put my music together so I could show it to the guys. I never imagined that it would turn into what it did until we started building it. Slowly it turned into a lot more than I originally envisioned. 

“Everybody else was even more surprised than I was, especially Ted. They thought I was just building a little demo room. Then Donn said, ‘No man! We’re going to make records up here!’ Donn and I had grown really close and had a common vision. Everybody was afraid that Donn and I were taking control. Well… yes! That’s exactly what we did, and the results proved that we weren’t idiots.”

Ed’s new home studio, named “5150” after the California law code for taking a mentally disordered person into custody when that person is considered a danger to others, was completed by the end of 1982. 

In a recent interview with Greg Renoff for Tape Op magazine, Landee recalls that the first recording session took place on January 2, 1983, with Ed on synthesizer and his brother Alex Van Halen on drums. 

Although Ed said in his 2014 Guitar World interview that he didn’t want to record cover tunes, ironically the very first song ever recorded at 5150 was a cover of Wilson Pickett’s In the Midnight Hour . 

It’s very likely that this was a calculated move on Ed’s part to appease David Lee Roth and Templeman, perhaps hoping to convince them that the studio was indeed up to the task after they worked there and heard the results. The fact that the song was never released and is still locked up in 5150’s vaults suggests that Ed may have never actually wanted to record it in the first place.

However, Ed boldly revealed his hand with his next move. Over the previous few years, the guitarist had worked on a synth-dominated song that would later be named Jump after Roth wrote the lyrics, and with the studio up and running he recorded an instrumental demo of the tune, performed on an Oberheim OB-Xa synthesizer with accompaniment from Al on drums and Michael Anthony on bass. 

“When I first played Jump for the guys nobody wanted to have anything to do with it,” Ed said. “Dave said that I was a guitar hero and I shouldn’t be playing keyboards. But when Ted heard the demo and said it was a stone-cold hit, everyone started to like it more. Ted only cared about Jump . He really didn’t care much about the rest of the record and just wanted that one hit.”

The band worked diligently recording new material for most of 1983, with the exception of the month of May, which they spent preparing for their appearance at the US Festival. Ed particularly reveled in having “unchained” freedom to experiment whenever and for as long as he pleased.

This included some explorations he wouldn’t have tried at a regular studio, like when he backed up his 1970 Lamborghini Miura S near 5150’s doors and miked its mighty roar. Initially intended for use during the chorus of Jump , the Lamborghini’s forceful growl eventually found its immortal home on the bridge of Panama .

Necessary tools for the party

In addition to equipping 5150 with a solid selection of classic studio gear that included a Universal Audio console purchased from United Western Studios, 3M M56 16-track tape machine and various items of high-end outboard gear such as Eventide Harmonizers, Teletronix LA-2A and UREI 1176 limiters, Lexicon Prime Time digital delay and EMT140ST plate reverb, Ed also added a wide variety of new instruments to his creative arsenal.

Ed had become enamored with the Oberheim OB-Xa polyphonic synthesizer and its updated version the OB-8, and they played a major role in three of the album’s songs. 

Keyboards had actually prominently appeared on all three of Van Halen’s previous albums – a Wurlitzer electric piano on And the Cradle Will Rock… ( Women and Children First ), an Electro-Harmonix Mini-Synthesizer on Saturday Afternoon in the Park and One Foot Out the Door ( Fair Warning ) and a Mini Moog on Dancing in the Street ( Diver Down ) – but they were distorted and usually employed as ersatz guitars. With 1984 , Jump and I’ll Wait , there was no mistaking that Ed was playing synths.

However, Ed was still a guitarist at heart and to his core, and he made many new additions to his guitar collection. The most notable newcomer was a rare vintage 1958 Gibson Flying V that Ed bought from Dan Martin of Missouri’s St. Charles Guitar Exchange – the first of many vintage guitars Ed would buy from the dealer over the years. 

The V was Van Halen’s primary guitar on the album, used to record Hot For Teacher, Girl Gone Bad , the main riff of Drop Dead Legs and, as recently discovered, quite possibly for Jump [researcher Allan Garber has uncovered a behind-the-bridge pick scrape in the isolated guitar track, corresponding sonically with the V’s tailpiece configuration]. 

Ed put the Ripley to good use on Top Jimmy, using an open D7 tuning (DADACD, low to high) and playing harmonics that bounced across the stereo soundscape

The guitarist had also acquired a few of Steve Ripley’s stereo guitars , featuring hexaphonic pickups (essentially each string had its own individual pickup) and panning controls for each string.

Ed put the Ripley to good use on Top Jimmy , using an open D7 tuning (DADACD, low to high) and playing harmonics that bounced across the stereo soundscape. This is probably the song called Ripley on a Warner Bros. memo that Ted Templeman wrote on August 23, 1983. 

Ed later recycled the title for another song he wrote for The Wild Life soundtrack since it also used the Ripley guitar. That song later became Blood and Fire on Van Halen’s 2012 A Different Kind of Truth album.

Photos taken at 5150 during this period show a Veilette-Citron Shark baritone guitar, but apparently any songs where he might have used it didn’t make the final cut on the album. That Warner Bros. memo lists a song called Baritone Slide – very likely an unreleased or unfinished track featuring this instrument.

Eddie Van Halen had officially publicly retired the Frankenstein starting with the tour in support of 1984, but it’s plausible that he used it for one last hurrah

Ed had given conflicting reports over the years about the use of his original Frankenstein guitar or his Kramer 5150 to record the album. He had officially publicly retired the Frankenstein starting with the tour in support of 1984 , but it’s plausible that he used it for one last hurrah.

However, Ed also had a habit of immediately putting new guitars to use once they orbited into his universe. As the 5150 became his favorite main guitar on albums recorded for the remainder of the ’80s, he may have played it on 1984 . But one confirmed constant throughout all of Van Halen’s first six albums was the use of his 1968 Marshall Super Lead 100-watt head with its voltage reduced via a Variac. 

“I had my old faithful Marshall head and bare wooden 4x12 cabinet facing off into a corner,” he recalled. “Al was in the other corner, and we set up some baffles to have isolation between my guitar and the drums. Because the space was so limited, Alex had to use a Simmons kit except for the snare.” 

Ed employed effects much more sparingly than he had on previous Van Halen albums. Most notably, he used a pair of Eventide H910 or H949 Harmonizers that were slightly detuned and individually panned left and right to provide a stereo spread and subtle chorus effect on many guitar tracks. 

Panama made good use of rhythmic delay, and the studio’s EMT plate reverb was employed tastefully on that song as well as Girl Gone Bad and House of Pain . However Ed’s usual MXR flanger and phaser pedals are absent.

Ministry of Truth

The finished product exceeded all expectations and then some. 1984 was a document of a band at its prime, where years of relentless touring had made their sound tight and their improvisational communication almost psychic.

Ed’s songwriting talents had expanded and grown, with his knack for pop hooks balanced by ambitious excursions inspired by progressive rock and fusion jazz. 

Perhaps the most surprising element of 1984 is the fact that the first note of guitar is heard after more than two minutes have passed. This was partly the result of Templeman’s late comment that he wished the album had a song called 1984 . 

Landee realized that he had about 45 minutes of Ed improvising solo on the Oberheim that could be edited down to an instrumental intro, and voila! He had his wish. The 1984 synth instrumental made the perfect dramatic statement and lead in to Jump .

Jump was pure pop perfection that fit right in with the synth-crazy mid-’80s, but Ed’s dynamic guitar solo was the secret weapon behind its success, giving Van Halen a competitive crossover advantage with a hard rock audience that would never be caught dead listening to groups like the Human League, Depeche Mode or Soft Cell. 

Panama may be the ultimate classic Van Halen tune, with Roth’s raunchy “fast car and faster girl” lyrics perfectly capturing the So Cal party vibe that made the band so irresistible from day one. It’s also one of two songs on 1984 that were inspired by AC/DC, which was not a bad move considering how Back in Black had already become the best-selling hard rock album of all-time.

Drop Dead Legs was inspired by Black in Black... It’s almost a jazz version of Back in Black – I put a lot more notes in there

The infectious, bouncy energy of Top Jimmy made it a strong contender for a fifth single or at least a hell of a B-side. However, it was probably held back by the difficulty of switching from open D7 tuning to standard for the solo’s delirious whammy bar workout, which prevented Van Halen from ever performing the song live. 

Drop Dead Legs similarly should have been a hit, partly thanks to its relentless pile-driving Michael Anthony/Alex Van Halen rhythm section groove.

“That was inspired by Black in Black ,” Ed admitted. “I was grooving to that beat, although Drop Dead Legs is slower. Whatever I listen to somehow is filtered through me and comes out differently. It’s almost a jazz version of Back in Black – I put a lot more notes in there.” It was never played live until the final 2015 tour.

Jump and its supporting music video may have made Van Halen seem harmless and cuddly, but Hot for Teacher was the opposite, exposing the band as the bad boy party animals they really were.

Alex Van Halen’s galloping Simmons drum intro sounds like a nitro-fueled dragster revving up before he switches to a Billy Cobham-meets-Buddy Rich swing that pushes Ed’s hot-rodded tapping into overdrive.

Roth’s schoolboy-in-heat lyrics are given extra punch and verve by Anthony’s high-pitched harmonies, while Ed keeps things loose and raunchy with ZZ Top-inspired bluesy finger-plucked riffs.

I’ll Wait was the album’s other synth-driven hit, with the yin of Ed’s sophisticated keyboard chords and a chorus with smooth yacht-rock lyrics penned by the Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald counterbalanced by the yang of Roth’s semi-goofball rants about “heartbreak in overdrive” and “such good photography!”

The guitar solo similarly provides a contrast between Ed’s melodic phrasing and fusion-esque flourishes with explosive vibrato bar noise.

When the album’s final sequence was being prepared in late 1983, no-one had any inkling that the band’s classic era with David Lee Roth would soon come to a close, yet the final two songs on 1984 delivered about as perfect a send-off as any fan could ask for.

Girl Gone Bad is simply epic and the closest thing to a progressive rock song that the band ever recorded. Ed delivered a tour-de-force performance with dynamic shifts in emotion from elegiac tapped harmonics to dark, drama-filled riffs. This was Van Halen’s equivalent to Led Zeppelin’s Achilles Last Stand with the added bonus of a truly blazing Van Halen solo heavily inspired by Allan Holdsworth.

Dating back to Van Halen’s early club days (demos were recorded in 1976 with Gene Simmons and in early 1977 for Warner Bros.), House of Pain was the only song not completely written fresh for the album, although the only element that remained from the early versions was the song’s main riff.

“I guess nobody really liked it the way that it originally was,” Ed said. “The intro and verses are completely different, and the fast part in the middle for the solo and the groove at the end are almost like entirely new songs.”

House of Pain showed that Van Halen had grown and evolved considerably over the preceding seven to eight years without losing any of their hunger, intensity and power.

Gin-scented tears

All good things must come to an end. They were too good to last. Always leave the people wanting more. These may be overused clichés, but it’s difficult to think of better ways to describe the aftermath of the 1984 album, its ambitious supporting tour and the eventual breakup of Van Halen’s classic David Lee Roth lineup.

Did success spoil Van Halen? Yes, and no. Eddie Van Halen’s ever-growing musical ambitions and desire to pursue different sonic paths collided with David Lee Roth’s incessant adoration of the spotlight and aspirations to pursue a career as a movie star.

With two diametrically opposed forces in conflict, the tensions inevitably sucked all the air out of the room until no one could comfortably breathe. Trying to outdo 1984 ’s success would have been an unfathomable challenge for any band, so it sadly made sense for Van Halen to end that chapter at the top of their game.

Van Halen fans both new and old maybe didn’t get exactly what they wanted, but instead they got what they needed. The Van Halen brothers and Anthony joined forces with Sammy Hagar and his growing legion of fans to take the band in a different and arguably more progressive direction it couldn’t have tried with Roth.

5150 didn’t reach the staggering commercial sales heights of 1984 , but it became Van Halen’s third all-time best-selling album with 6x Platinum certification. It was also the first Van Halen album to finally reach the #1 spot on the charts. [ 1984 likely also would have achieved that feat, but it had the disadvantage of going head-to-head with the best-selling album of all-time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller , which was in the beginning of several extended periods where it completely dominated the charts for several months.]

The Van Halen brothers and Anthony joined forces with Sammy Hagar and his growing legion of fans to take the band in a different and arguably more progressive direction

Meanwhile, Roth put together one of rock’s greatest supergroups, recruiting the extraordinary talents of guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Gregg Bissonette to keep the rip-roaring party going full blast.

Roth’s first full-length album Eat ‘Em and Smile was nowhere near as commercially successful as the albums he recorded with Van Halen, but with Vai and Sheehan’s instrumental pyrotechnics and Roth’s inimitable character it kept the white-hot flame burning very brightly for classic Van Halen fans.

The split resulted in a Dave vs. Sammy argument as incessant as it is meaningless. For some fans, the change truly was the best of both worlds, but it didn’t last. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. Van Halen had won the victory over itself.

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Chris is the co-author of Eruption - Conversations with Eddie Van Halen. He is a 40-year music industry veteran who started at Boardwalk Entertainment (Joan Jett, Night Ranger) and Roland US before becoming a guitar journalist in 1991. He has interviewed more than 600 artists, written more than 1,400 product reviews and contributed to Jeff Beck’s Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll and Eric Clapton’s Six String Stories.

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Sammy Hagar tour: Van Halen songs on playlist for Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, Jason Bonham

Sammy Hagar plans to revitalize some Van Halen vibes on his upcoming summer tour.

For The Best of All Worlds Tour, Hagar and his bandmates in The Circle – bassist Michael Anthony, a founding member of Van Halen, and drummer Jason Bonham – will be joined by guitarist virtuoso Joe Satriani , who has recorded and performed with Hagar and Anthony in the band Chickenfoot.

The itinerary kicks off on July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and the tour hits a total of 28 cities, concluding August 31 in St. Louis, Missouri. Loverboy will serve as the opening act.

Pre-sales begin on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m., with general on-sale starting Friday, Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. local. For more information go to RedRocker.com .

Hagar, 76, joined Van Halen as vocalist in 1985 after David Lee Roth left. Hagar also left the band in 1996, but returned for a 2004 tour. Recently, Hagar says he and Anthony decided to perform songs from their days playing in Van Halen at Hagar's annual Birthday Bash last month in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

"We pulled out a couple of them and it was an instant lovefest with the fans from our first riffs," Hagar said in a statement with the tour announcement. "The music we created is going to outlive us all. They deserve to be heard so it's time we go out and serve the fans that music, while we still can."

The four albums of the "Van Hagar" era of the band – 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991), and Balance (1995) – were recently re-released in newly remastered editions.

“It’s crazy to think that it’ll be 20 years since Mikey and I played these songs with Van Halen on the 04’ Best of Both Worlds Tour,” said Hagar. “With Joe on board, we can take a deeper dive into those years. We’re going to touch on some hits from my entire career but seeing fans old and new really embrace the new collection set off something in Mikey and I."

Joining the band on keyboards and backing vocals is Australian musician Rai Thistlethwayte.

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What songs may Sammy Hagar and the band play in the 2024 tour?

On a poster for The Best of All Worlds tour , there's a list of songs including:

• Songs Hagar recorded with Van Halen: 5150, When It's Love, Best of Both Worlds, Finish What Ya Started, Poundcake, Humans Being, Right Now, Good Enough, Eagles Fly
• Van Halen songs recorded with Roth: Panama, Running' With the Devil, Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
• Hagar solo songs: Your Love is Driving Me Crazy, Heavy Metal, Little White Lie, One Way to Rock, Mas Tequila,
• Hagar songs from his days with Montrose: Rock Candy
• Chickenfoot songs: Oh Yeah

Here are Sammy Hagar's Best of All Worlds tour dates

• July 13         West Palm Beach, FL         iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
• July 14         Tampa, FL                          MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre            
• July 16         Alpharetta, GA                  Ameris Bank Amphitheatre                            
• July 19         Charlotte, NC                    PNC Music Pavilion
• July 20         Bristow, VA                        Jiffy Lube Live
• July 22         Saratoga Springs, NY        Broadview Stage at SPAC          
• July 24         Bridgeport, CT                   Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater                
• July 26,        Mansfield, MA                   Xfinity Center
• July 27         Holmdel, NJ                      PNC Bank Arts Center                               
• July 29         Cuyahoga Falls, OH           Blossom Music Center                           
• July 31        Toronto, ON                       Budweiser Stage                             
• Aug. 2         Clarkston, MI                     Pine Knob Music Theatre
• Aug. 3         Tinley Park, IL                     Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
• Aug. 9         Las Vegas, NV                    MGM Grand Garden Arena  
• Aug. 11       Morrison, CO                     Red Rocks Amphitheatre                         
• Aug. 13       Spokane, WA                     Airway Heights, WA BECU Live at Northern Quest
• Aug. 14       Ridgefield, WA                   RV Inn Style Resort Amphitheater               
• Aug. 16       Wheatland, CA                  Toyota Amphitheatre
• Aug. 17       Concord, CA                      Toyota Pavilion at Concord               
• Aug. 19       Los Angeles, CA                 Kia Forum
• Aug. 20       Phoenix, AZ                       Talking Stick Resorts Amphitheatre             
• Aug. 22       Dallas, TX                           Dos Equis Pavilion
• Aug. 23       Houston, TX                       Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion     
• Aug. 25       Rogers, AR                         Walmart AMP                 
• Aug. 27       Cincinnati, OH                   Riverbend Music Center
• Aug. 28       Nashville, TN                     Bridgestone Arena                             
• Aug. 30       Noblesville, IN                   Ruoff Music Center
• Aug. 31       St. Louis, MO                     Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads:  @mikesnider  & mikegsnider .

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1983 – Devore, CA @ US Festival

People say they were wasted…and especially rag on Dave thinking he actually forgot the words.  Well, there’s no doubt they ALL were pretty wasted partying all day, but overall I don’t see a big problem with their performance.  It was still pretty damn tight, considering, and everyone should know that Dave’s schtick for the 1982/83 Tour was to “forget the fucking words” during the opening song (Romeo Delight) in the 2nd verse.

• Romeo Delight
• The Full Bug
• Runnin’ With the Devil
• Jamie’s Cryin’
• So This Is Love?
• Little Guitars
• Dancing in the Street
• Somebody Get Me a Doctor   (with “Girl Gone Bad Jam” and Cream “I’m So Glad”)
• Dance the Night Away
• Everybody Wants Some!!
• Ice Cream Man
• Oh, Pretty Woman
• Guitar Solo
• Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love
• Bottoms Up!
• You Really Got Me / Happy Trails

Photos and Media 3/22/1983 Press Conference

Photos and Media Pre-show

Photos and Media Concert

• US Festival

Similar Posts

1985 – david lee roth interview on good morning america, 1985 – david lee roth interview on letterman show, 1984 – dave releases ‘california girls’ single.

If the rest of the band was fucked up during the performance, you could have fooled me. It’s obvious with Dave but Eddie, Mike and Alex are tight. Eddie puts on a guitar clinic basically. Dave would always skip lyrics live, but this concert he went overboard. Sucks having to wait that long to go on but I can’t imagine them playing checkers to pass the time. VH always played with energy and this performance is no different.

i attended show when i was 13 . was probably 1 of my greatest music memories in my life. i still have my shirt , ticket stubs for all 3 days and wrist bands they gave you. also in perfect condition the program.

I was back stage that show . Dave was so wasted he passed out twice . The second time he passed the medics gave him o2 then pushed him onstage lol

nice! Iconic concert

Posts From 1982

1982 – the source: van halen special, 1982 – phone interview eddie van halen with jas obrecht, 1982 – david lee roth interview w jim ladd, 2/5/1983 – montevideo, uruguay, 1982 – greensboro, nc @ greensboro coliseum, 10/12/1982 – landover, md @ the capital centre.

Best Bootlegs

9/15/1982 – San Francisco, CA @ The Cow Palace

1978 – ipswich, uk @ gaumont theatre, 2/1/1984 – charlotte, nc @ charlotte coliseum, 9/22/1978 – fresno, ca @ selland arena, 5/13/1984 – inglewood, ca @ the forum, 1978 – manchester, england @ manchester apollo, 2/3/1984 – greensboro, nc @ greensboro coliseum.

Tour Archive

1978 – Tour Dates

1979 tour dates – world vacation tour, 1980 tour dates – world invasion tour, 1981 tour dates – fair warning tour, 1982 tour dates – hide your sheep tour, 1984 tour dates.

This site is not affiliated with Van Halen, their management or record label. The only goal of this site is to share, celebrate and chronicle Van Halen's history from 1973-1985.  The resources and documents presented here are strictly for archival purposes only. This site does not condone the sale of unauthorized recordings. Photo credit has been given when known.  If there's a photo you want credited or removed, please let me know: [email protected]

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Van Halen - South America Tour 1983 - Very Rare Backstage Pass

Vintage 4 1/4" tall laminated OTTO backstage pass from the Van Halen "South America" tour in 1983. Notice the Van Halen logo at the top of the lion. This is a very uncommon pass.

Excellent unused condition from an old collection.

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Music and Concerts | Forging his own path: Wolfgang Van Halen talks…

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Music and concerts | forging his own path: wolfgang van halen talks tour, oscars performance and his legendary father.

The son of legendary guitarist Edward Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli was only 16 when he played bass and toured the world with his famous father and the legendary band that bears their name. Wolf would later go on to have a role in what would become the band’s final studio album, 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth.

Shortly after the passing of his father in 2020, Wolfgang Van Halen released his first band album, Mammoth WVH; the name a reference to both Wolf’s initials and an homage to an earlier band that featured his father and uncle, Alex, prior to forming Van Halen. The album would reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Rock chart and the single, “Distance,” would earn the legendary guitarist’s son his own Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song. Even more impressive is that all of the writing, vocal and instrumentation (including guitars, bass, drums) on the album was done by Wolfgang exclusively.

Wolf’s most recent album, Mammoth II, also topped the Hard Rock album chart when it was released last summer — a feat that not only speaks to the maturity of Wolf as a player but also solidifies him as a consummate artist.

On Saturday, Wolfgang Van Halen will bring his monstrous Mammoth II tour to the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem for a night of rock music and ferocious guitar playing.

I recently spoke with Van Halen about his upcoming performance in Bethlehem, music and more in this exclusive new interview.

You recently attended the Oscars where you got to perform with Slash and Ryan Gosling on “I’m Just Ken,” a song nominated for an Academy Award and one you helped record for the “Barbie The Album” soundtrack. What was that experience like?

Wolfgang Van Halen: It was very crazy but an exciting thing to be a part of. That is not my normal place to hang around in or operate from, so I felt a little like a fish out of water [laughs].

Did you know at the time how special your contributions to that film would be?

I knew at the time that it was awesome but I had no idea it was going to blow up the way that it did. After I’d seen the clips and [producer] Mark Ronson explained the whole story to me I knew it would be great. To have a small part in something like that was a really cool thing. I loved playing on it and being a part of the movie.

What can fans expect from your upcoming performance at Wind Creek Event Center?

It’s the top of the tour back in the States. It’s our first show with the wonderful band, Intervals, opening for us. So if you feel like hanging out and listening to some cool rock and  awesome guitar playing it’s going to be a good time.

What inspired the name of your band, Mammoth?

Mammoth was a band name my dad [Eddie Van Halen] had used when he was younger for a three-piece band he was in where he sung. I’ve always felt really close to that name. I even told my dad when I was growing up that if I ever had a band I would call it that, and here we are.

Can you talk a bit about your latest album, Mammoth II, and its evolution?

The first album I recorded in 2018 so there had been a lot of time in between. With the first album I was trying to figure out who I was as an artist. By the time the second album came around I had established everything I wanted to, so it was more about experimenting and being a bit more confident in what the project was. I had a lot of fun exploring what the band was capable of.

Your dad inspired thousands of people to want to play guitar, so here’s a two-part question: How did you get the gig in Van Halen and more importantly, what was it like for you to perform live with your dad (and uncle)?

It was wonderful. A time in my life I was very happy to have experienced. Being able to bond with my family in that was very special to me. When I joined they were at a point in time where they didn’t know what was going on. We just started jamming for fun and before you knew it, it felt like something really special and important was happening. That’s how it began.

I’m going to put you on the spot now — what’s your favorite Van Halen song? 

Wow, it’s difficult to pick favorite songs because I really love all of it. The closest I could narrow it down to would be two albums from each era. I think the Fair Warning and 1984 albums are two of my favorites. “Hear About it Later” off of Fair Warning is a really great song I don’t think gets enough praise.

What was the biggest thing your dad taught you about playing guitar?

He actually never taught me how to play guitar so we never really did any lessons. I actually taught myself. The funny thing I always like to remember is something his dad told him, which was if you ever make a mistake, play it twice so that people think you meant to play it [laughs].

How about his advice on music or the business in general?

He always said be careful and aware of everything and only work with people you trust. Luckily things have been going well so far. We’ve built a very wonderful group of people around Mammoth I’m very proud to be working with.

Musically speaking, what excites you the most about the future?

I’m excited to keep working Mammoth. It’s my passion and the one thing I want to do in life. We’re having all of these opportunities to open for amazing bands. We’ve been opening for Metallica and recently opened for Slash in Europe. Now we’re playing with one of my favorite bands, Intervals. We also have some dates opening for Foo Fighters. It’s crazy to have your whole year planned out for you but now it’s fun to be able to execute and play all of these exciting shows. I feel very lucky and grateful to be doing what I’m doing right now.

James Wood is a freelance writer. You can reach him at [email protected].

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Wolfgang Van Halen’s band Mammoth ready to rock Revolution Live for Mother’s Day weekend

There’s a wolf on the prowl in Fort Lauderdale this weekend.

Wolfgang Van Halen is bringing his band to South Florida this Sunday. If you want to treat your mom to a hard-rockin’ Mother’s Day, there’s no better place to be.

Does that remind you of anybody? Like, say, this guy?

If you heard similarities in the shredding, it only makes sense. Wolfgang Van Halen, son of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen, has inherited his father’s skills. He’s putting his talents on display at Revolution Live this weekend. He’s still getting used to fronting Mammoth, his own band.

Wolfgang Van Halen: “It’s all coming from me. I feel like I need to represent it best by standing in the front, but I’ve definitely warmed up to it the last couple of years.”

When Wolf first started recording, he was one-man band, playing every instrument.

Forming a group to tour wasn’t a big deal. He just found musicians he liked, personally and professionally.

Wolfgang Van Halen: “It was really important for me to find, I mean, capable musicians, but more importantly, people that I’m friends with and enjoy being around.”

There’s no pressure on the band to recreate Wolf’s solo work.

Wolfgang Van Halen: “It’s gonna be different either way because I can’t duplicate myself or replicate what I did in the studio, but I think that’s a fun sort of duality. In the studio it’s one thing, and live it’s another thing.”

Wolf got the chance to hit the stage with his famous father when he toured with Van Halen. Rocking out in a family way is something he’ll treasure forever.

Wolfgang Van Halen: “Oh, there was nothing better, I think, being able to both play with my dad and my uncle, was just connecting on a completely different level.”

Wolfgang and the guys in Mammoth promise you a night to remember.

Wolfgang Van Halen: “A great night of rock, a lot of notes, you know, a lot of good melodies, a lot of good energy.”

For tickets and more information click here .

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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