The Supergroup Eddie Van Halen Almost Created
When David Lee Roth left Van Halen in 1985, the band's future was completely up in the air. Eddie Van Halen and his bandmates reached out to several singers to fill the role, but none accepted. These rejections led Eddie to explore new possibilities to keep his music career aliveāone of which could have changed rock history forever. However, before this ambitious plan could materialize, Van Halen found their next frontman, Sammy Hagar.
Before discovering Hagar, Eddie was uncertain about where his career was headed. With no clear path forward, he envisioned forming an '80s supergroup that could have been groundbreaking. In a 1996 interview with Guitar World, Eddie revealed details about this bold idea, explaining that he had spoken to some of rockās biggest names about joining forces.
āMy plan at the timeāand I wouldnāt necessarily have called it a solo record because Mike [Anthony] and Al [Alex Van Halen] would have played on itāwas to get Mike Rutherford [Genesis], Pete Townshend, Phil Collins, and Joe Cocker, all of whom I had talked to,ā Eddie said.
He even had a specific vision for the project, including an early version of Right Now, which later became a hit for Van Halen. āI had written āRight Nowā back then, and I wanted Joe Cocker to sing on it. It would have been fā great. Thatās what I wanted to doāwrite a record where I did all the music and had a different singer on each song,ā he added.
Despite the incredible potential, the project never got off the ground. Eddie admitted that logistical challengesāsuch as conflicting schedules, contractual obligations, and record label interferenceāmade it nearly impossible. āLogistically, it would have been a nightmareāpeople on tour, contractual agreements, companies pissing and moaningāand weād probably only be finishing it now,ā he reflected. āIt would have been fun.ā
Though Van Halen ultimately thrived with Sammy Hagar, it's fascinating to think about what could have been if Eddieās supergroup had become a reality. While weāre grateful for the music Van Halen created with Hagar, this glimpse into Eddieās musical vision leaves us wondering about the alternate history that never happened.
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