The key group to completely redefine the era of hard rock music in the 1970s, Van Halen contributed to the wide world of rock like few before them and even fewer after. Number ones like "Oh, Pretty Woman," "Jump," "When It's Love," "Runaround" and "Without You" fueled the fire for the Van Halen world takeover and despite the infamous David Lee Roth/Sammy Hagar battle for vocalist the band has stuck together through the years, crafting more hits than Michael Jackson had plastic surgeries.

Van Halen was spearheaded by the one and only Eddie Van Halen, who undoubtedly inherited his musical talent from his father, a Dutch bandleader. Van Halen and his family moved from the Netherlands to Pasadena, California when he was 12 years old, his older brother Alex 14 at the time. Eddie and Alex quickly jumped into the bliss of rock ‘n' roll music once in the States, forming a hard rock band called Mammoth along with fellow musician David Lee Roth. The three recruited Michael Anthony to their band, and changed their moniker to Van Halen in 1974 after discovering another band named Mammoth. Van Halen got their start playing West Coast gigs at clubs and hotel bars around Southern California, eventually catching the eye of Kiss' Gene Simmons, who recorded a demo for them that eventually got them signed with Warner Bros.

1978's Van Halen started the band's legacy with rock hits "You Really Got Me," "Jamie's Cryin'" and "Runnin' with the Devil," and Van Halen continued with this success through the ‘80s, breaking into full-blown celebrity status with the album 1984, which held the hit single "Jump." Problems with lead singer Roth led to his departure and replacement Sammy Hagar, and for the better part of two decades Roth and Hagar battled for a spot in the band, each taking turns with various projects. Van Halen continued touring the country through the 2000s and the band was even inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.