The Van Halen song Alex Van Halen will always regret: “That would have been unbelievable”
It was a real moment when Van Halen first burst onto the music scene. The unique guitar tone of Eddie Van Halen completely changed the way people viewed music, as his tapping technique meant he could play at tremendous speed. However, he didn’t just let speed define him, as he also wrote with melody at the heart of every track, putting together beautiful rhythms that were hard to criticise.
Whenever they took to the stage, whether they were supporting another band or playing one of their own songs, they were able to play with a vigour that was truly inspiring. Crowds would stand there with their mouths open wide in shock as they tried to work out how such an energetic and exciting sound was coming from the stage.
Brothers Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen, who were the two creative minds behind the band, were also the founders. They were often on the same page about things, as they learned to play together and had the same tastes outside the group. However, their creative ideals sometimes clashed with those of other members of the band.
The first frontman Van Halen had was David Lee Roth, and he was great when it came to providing an energy that complemented Van Halen’s upbeat sound. With such a unique style, there are a lot of singers who would have struggled to keep up, but Lee Roth was up to the challenge. Unfortunately, there was a lot of creative tension within the band, and this led to him eventually quitting the band.
The hunt to find a new singer was on, and he came in the form of Sammy Hagar. What Van Halen did well during this period was that they didn’t try to imitate the sound they had with Lee Roth and instead, embraced the new sound they could explore with Hagar. They were a match made in heaven, as Hagar and the rest of the band had similar creative visions and worked together incredibly well…most of the time.
There was one song which Hagar pitched to the band that they weren’t overly keen on. The track was called ‘Eagles Fly’, and though Hagar was also working on a solo album at the same time, he felt as though this track would have been perfect for Van Halen. He sat Eddie and Alex down in the studio to play it for them, but neither brother was a fan, particularly Alex.
“I’m at the studio,” Hagar recalled, “I’m playing it for Ed, and Alex is standing in the background, and I’m… on guitar, acoustic. And Alex goes, ‘Sounds like John Denver!’ […] I’ll never forget it! I’m going, ‘Yeah—what’s wrong with that? John’s a bad motherfucker! Shut your mouth when I’m talking about John!’”
Given the band didn’t like the track, Hagar decided to use it on his solo album, and when the brothers heard the finished version, they realised what a mistake they’d made by not taking it. He recalled, “Alex heard it on the record, and he goes, ‘Hey, man, you should have saved that for Van Halen!’ I said, ‘Dude, don’t you remember what you said about that song?’”
