Chords for What All Of Eddie Van Halen's Former Bandmates Have Said About Him

Eddie Van Halen will always be remembered as one of the most influential guitarists of all time.
However, despite his success, some of his former bandmates have not been so kind when discussing
their time working with the [G] domineering guitar hero.
Let's take a look at what all of Eddie Van
Halen's former bandmates have said about him.
Michael Anthony, the [Gm] former bassist of Van Halen,
sadly acknowledged that he and Eddie never reconciled their issues [C] before the legendary
guitarist's death in October of 2020.
Their problems date back to the band's 1984 tour,
in a move that many fans consider [Gm] controversial to this day.
The Van Halen brothers insisted that
Michael Anthony sign away his ownership stake in the band and [D] forgo all future songwriting credits
and royalty [C] payments.
Years later, Anthony was infamously forced by Van Halen [G] to take a pay cut
as well as sign away his rights to the Van Halen [Dm] name and logo in order to participate in the band's
[Eb] 2004 tour.
Anthony was ultimately not invited to be a [Bb] part of Van Halen's subsequent reunions,
with Eddie Van Halen's [Gm] son, Wolfgang, replacing him on bass.
While speaking on Talking Rock with
Meltdown, Anthony discussed how he and Eddie [Eb] never had the chance to put aside their differences,
[Bb] saying,
_ [Gm] _ _ _ _ [Eb] _
_ [Bb] _ [Gm] As the Van Hagar years drew to a close, Sammy [Bb] Hagar and Eddie Van Halen's relationship sadly
[Eb] deteriorated.
Inevitably, this led to an eruption of animosity between them in [F] the press as they
traded insults back and forth.
Though Eddie's issues with substances had been well known,
it was Hagar's 2011 memoir that enlightened readers to the most alarming details [G] of the
guitarist's life.
Within the pages of his book, Hagar [Cm] painted Eddie in an [Gm] unfavorable light.
He would describe Eddie during Van Halen's 2004 reunion tour as unkempt, hunched over,
[Eb] frighteningly skinny, and drinking wine straight from the bottle.
Hagar later called the tour
the most [Bb] miserable, backstabbing, dark crap I've ever been involved with my whole [B] life.
Eddie would denounce Hagar during a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone,
saying that the singer was [Eb] exaggerating the truth in his book.
Hagar stands by the accuracy of his
[Cm] book's content, yet later voiced remorse for including [Gm] stories and passages about Eddie that
were not necessarily complimentary.
While speaking to Brazil's Inside with Paulo Barron,
[Eb] Hagar expressed his regrets, saying,
[Cm] _ _ [Gm] _ _ [Dm] _ _ [Eb] _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] Singer David Lee Roth left Van Halen [Bb] in 1985 to pursue a solo career.
The band [Gm] made several
unsuccessful attempts to get back together before finally reuniting with Roth in 2007.
Though David and [Eb] Eddie often butted heads, the pair was seemingly on good terms [Bb] by the
time of Eddie's untimely death.
On the December 2020 [Gm] edition of his The Roth Show podcast,
the singer [Bb] delivered some heartfelt words in honor of his cherished bandmate, stating,
[Dm] _
_ [G] _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _
_ [Cm] _ [Gm] _ _ _ [F] _ _
Jump was a contributing factor [Bb] to David Lee Roth leaving the band in 1985.
In 1996, Van Halen had a falling out with their second lead singer, Sammy Hagar,
and subsequently tried and failed [E] to reunite with original lead vocalist David Lee Roth.
[C] At the urging of Van Halen's manager, the band officially hired Gary [Gm] Cherone as their third lead
vocalist.
Together, they would release Van [C] Halen 3 in 1998.
But unfortunately, the album [D] was
ultimately considered a commercial disappointment, and Cherone was dismissed from the band shortly
after the Van Halen 3 tour ended.
In a June 2022 interview with Sirius XM's Trunk Nation,
Cherone opened up about the life and death of Eddie Van Halen.
He said,
Eddie and I rekindled our relationship [Bb] end of 2015.
I reached out to him and we picked [Gm] up where
we left off.
It was wild because we went back and forth and we talked.
And then when I went to LA,
I finally got to see him [Eb] and it was great.
He was going through his cancer treatment at the time.
[Bb] He'd have good days.
There was one where I saw him and he was just getting back [G] and he was just
like, oh man, I'm not feeling great.
And I was like, that's cool.
We can just hang out for a
little while.
But he was great.
[Eb] I think the last six months, it got real quiet.
I reached out to
him [Bb] a few times and he got back to me later.
I just had a feeling something [Gm] was going down.
When asked whether or not he and Eddie mainly talked about personal matters or if they had
considered collaborating [Eb] again, Gary replied, it was mostly us talking as [Gm] friends.
But there was
a couple of conversations.
Eddie's son, [G] Wolfgang Van Halen, later revealed that his father had
contemplated a kitchen sink Van Halen tour featuring all three of Van Halen's [Gm] vocalists.
The Van [C] Halen family moved to Pasadena, California after emigrating to [Gm] the U.S. from the Netherlands
in 1962.
Only two years later, the Van Halen [Dm] brothers, Eddie and Alex, formed their first band,
The Broken [G] Combs.
Over the years, the group underwent transformations and [Bb] evolutions in both
name and [Gm] lineup.
By 1974, it had welcomed lead singer David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony
into the mix and officially changed its name to Van Halen.
With [Eb] the two brothers at the helm,
Van Halen went on to become one of the [C] biggest rock bands of the 1980s.
When Eddie passed away in [Gm] October of 2020 at St.
John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California,
Alex was reportedly among those at his brother's [D] side.
In a display of their deep bond,
Eddie's final Instagram [F] post was, in fact, a tribute to Alex.
The guitarist shared [Gm] a black
and white photo of him and his brother to his followers to wish the drummer a happy birthday.
Two days after Eddie's death, a grief [Eb]-stricken Alex would release a tribute to his legendary
brother, [Bb] saying, Hey Ed, I love you.
See you on the other side.
[Gm] Your brother, Al.
Mark Stone was Van Halen's first ever bass player, but his tenure in the band was short-lived.
[F] He
helped to start the band in 1972 alongside the [Bb] Van Halen brothers.
Initially, the group called
itself Genesis, [Gm] but changed its name to Mammoth upon learning that there was another band named
Genesis.
In the 2003 documentary Van [Eb] Halen Story, the early years Stone would reflect on his days
in Mammoth [Bb] and praised Eddie's guitar playing abilities.
He said, I knew [Gm] early on that Eddie
and Alex were both virtuosos.
There were [Bb] few legendary guitar players, and I knew Edward was
on his way [Eb] to getting there.
In 1974, the band changed its name [F] to Van Halen, but also parted
ways with Stone that same year in favor of Michael Anthony.
I was a straight-A student in [C] school,
remembered Stone, and doing the band and split between these [Gm] two things, basically I couldn't
keep up.
We met one day, and they actually asked me to leave.
For a long time it was really tough,
because I knew they were destined for greatness.
They say, don't leave before miracles happen,
and I did.
While Stone never actually appeared on any official Van Halen releases, he did [Bb] contribute
to the band's demos.
Tragically, on September [Gm] 27, 2020, Mark Stone died after a battle with cancer,
just 10 days before the death of Eddie.
[A] Eddie's beloved son, Wolfgang Van Halen, was the one who
delivered [C] the heartbreaking announcement of his father's passing.
In a social media [Gm] post, he wrote,
I can't believe I'm having to write this, but my father, Edward Van Halen, has lost his long and
[Eb] arduous battle with cancer this morning.
He was the best father I could ever [C] ask for.
Every moment
I've shared with him on and off stage was [G] a gift.
My heart is broken, and I don't think I'll ever
fully recover [C] from the loss.
I love you so much, Pop.
In the months and [Eb] years since his father's
passing, Wolfgang has shot down rumors of Van [Bb] Halen tribute shows on multiple occasions, saying,
You [Gm] can't have Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen.
I'm not my dad.
I'm not going to replace him.
I'm
my own person.
My dad, [Eb] he'd be pissed off.
He'd be like, what the F are you doing?
Go [Ab] do your own
thing.
Wolfgang continued, I don't have a dad anymore, [Gm] and I'm coming to terms with that.
I'm
trying to figure out how to deal with that.
So I think the fans can try and come to terms with and
figure out how [Eb] to deal with the fact that we're not going to have Van Halen anymore.
Wolfgang [Bb] blames
the prevalence of the Van Halen tribute show rumors on what he [Gm] calls, quote, desperate fans.
Though Eddie Van Halen is remembered fondly after his tragic death, the legendary [Eb] guitarist was
involved in a number