The musician that walked out on Van Halen
At the end of the 1970s, the California rock scene was starting to look a lot more mellow than where it began in the ’60s. For all of the great musicians populating the rock scene, acts like the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt brought a specific lackadaisical sound to their music compared to the emergence of punk and new wave happening half a world away. Even though California was still a major power player in the music industry, Van Halen was about to turn the music world on its head with the release of their debut album.
From day one, though, Eddie Van Halen wasn’t looking to go with the program that California was heading. Being a die-hard fan of hard rock guitarists like Eric Clapton, Eddie was focused on bringing a heavy spin on his favourite tunes, which often included piling on loads of effects and inventing his way of tapping both hands on the fretboard.
With his brother providing the heartbeat on drums, the group’s luck started to change around their local scene when they found a young superstar from Indiana named David Lee Roth. Having served time in Red Ball Jet and renting out his PA system to the Van Halens, the brothers thought it would be cheaper to get him in the band, earning them one of the most high-profile frontmen ever.
Although the group fell into place under their original moniker, Mammoth, their original bass player, was starting to find himself increasingly out of step with the rest of the band. Being a school friend from their early days, Mark Stone was the original bass player for the group, learning different covers by outfits like The Kinks and Led Zeppelin before deciding it was time to walk out on the band.
Right as they were about to earn mainstream gigs, Stone decided to leave to focus on his education, recalling in The Van Halen Story, “I was a straight-A student, and I was kind of split between these two things, and basically, I couldn’t keep up with them.” By the time he had quit, though, Eddie wasn’t exactly heartbroken to hear that he had left.
Since Stone was attending school to become a pharmacist, Eddie remembered that the bassist would show up to rehearsal and not remember how many of the songs were arranged. Even though the group were left with no bottom end, they got a one-of-a-kind replacement when they got Michael Anthony from the band Snake.
Armed with a solid sense of rhythm, Anthony also had a signature high voice that would become integral to the band’s vocal sound, providing a massive high end to the choruses. While all the pieces were in place, Roth had one minor suggestion regarding the group’s name.
Thinking that Mammoth wasn’t going to work, Roth was the one who suggested that the group change their name to Van Halen, thinking that it had a much better ring to it whenever they performed live. Even though Mark Stone may have left right as the band were about to explode, there’s a good chance that Van Halen may not have succeeded if the core four members weren’t there for their debut.
