Editing Van Halen (section)

===1972–1977: Formation and early history===
The Van Halen brothers were born in [[Amsterdam]], the Netherlands, [[Alex Van Halen]] in 1953 and [[Eddie Van Halen]] in 1955,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ABCDDD:010830689|title=Familiebericht|newspaper=Het Parool |date=January 28, 1955|via=Koninklijke Bibliotheek}}</ref> sons to [[Dutch people|Dutch]] musician Jan Van Halen and Indonesian-born [[Indo people|Indo]] Eugenia Van Beers. The family moved to [[Pasadena, California]], in 1962. Eddie began learning classical piano [[Playing by ear|by ear]], and became so proficient he won an annual piano recital contest two or three years in a row, despite never mastering [[sight-reading]] [[sheet music]]. The brothers began playing music together in the 1960s, with Eddie on drums and Alex on guitar. However, while Ed was delivering newspapers to pay off his drum set, Alex secretly developed a passion and proficiency at them. Eventually, out of frustration and brotherly competition, Eddie told Alex, "OK, you play drums and I'll play your guitar."<ref name="ReferenceA">Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga by Ian Christie, {{ISBN|978-0-470-03910-6}}</ref>

The Van Halen brothers formed their first band, the Broken Combs, in 1964. As they gained popularity playing backyard parties and local high school functions, they changed their name first to the Trojan Rubber Co, then in 1972 to Genesis, later to Mammoth when they discovered [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] was already in use by a major-label British band. At this time the band included Eddie on both vocals and lead guitar and friend Mark Stone on bass. They rented a [[public address system|sound-system]] from Indiana-born Pasadena transplant [[David Lee Roth]] for $10 per night. Roth fronted a local R&B influenced rock band the Red Ball Jets. Roth's uncle Manny owned [[Cafe Wha?]] in New York City until 1968. Partly to save money, they invited Roth to join as their lead vocalist despite previous unconvincing auditions.<ref name="guitarcom">{{cite web |url=http://www.vhlinks.com/pages/interviews/evh/gu072378.php |title=Eddie van Halen |access-date=August 13, 2007}}</ref> Ultimately Roth's charismatic "[[Jim Dandy (song)|Jim Dandy]]" approach would be both an artistic foil to Eddie's circumspect, guitar prodigy talents as well as allowing Eddie to focus his energies on song composition.

[[File:Van halen at La Canada High School 1976.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Van Halen performing at [[La Cañada High School]] in 1975.]]
In 1973, Mammoth changed its name to Van Halen.<ref name="Van Halen"/> According to Roth,<ref>''Crazy from the Heat'' by David Lee Roth</ref> this was his idea. He felt it was a name that held long-term identity, artistic and marketing advantages, like [[Santana (band)|Santana]]. They continued to play Pasadena, San Bernardino, and Venice at clubs, festivals, backyard parties and city parks like Hamilton, drawing up to 2,000 people. Traffic jams and noise complaints to the local police often ensued, as far away as San Pedro.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 18, 1974|title=Early Van Halen gig, at the Christmas Family Festival at the Greek Theatre. Dec 1974|pages=36|work=News-Pilot|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50448576/early-van-halen-gig-at-the-christmas/|access-date=May 7, 2020}}</ref> Van Halen subsequently played clubs in Los Angeles and West Hollywood to growing audiences, increasing their popularity through self-promotion, passing out flyers at local high schools. This tenacious self-promotion soon built them an auspicious, loyal, area following.<ref name="guitarcom"/> 
[[File:Van halen flyer.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Flyer handed out at [[La Cañada High School]] show. Eddie playing an [[Ibanez]] Destroyer.]]
By 1974, Roth had been in the band for about a year, and they decided to replace the ambivalent Stone, who was unsure about a career in music. [[Michael Anthony (musician)|Michael Anthony Sobolewski]], a Pasadena college music-classmate of Eddie's, joined the group after an all-night jam session. He had sung and played bass in a number of less successful Arcadia backyard-party bands, including Snake. Although he was hesitant, his bandmate in Snake encouraged him to seize this opportunity.<ref name=guitarcom /> Also in 1974, the band had a major break when it was hired to play regularly at the [[Sunset Strip]] club [[Gazzarri's]]. The Doors had "broken" there in the late 1960s. Owner Bill Gazzarri had previously claimed Van Halen was too loud for the venue. However, their new managers, Mark Algorri and Mario Miranda, took over the club's hiring and booked them through 1976.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} By the Spring of 1975, they were the regular Tuesday night band at Myron's Ballroom.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 21, 1975|title=Van Halen. Tuesday night band at Myron's Ballroom.|pages=27|work=News-Pilot|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50448974/van-halen-tuesday-night-band-at/|access-date=May 7, 2020}}</ref> They had succeeded in becoming a staple of the Los Angeles music scene during the mid-1970s, playing at clubs like the [[Whisky a Go Go]] on Sunset Strip.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/eddie-van-halen/jan-00/4788 |title=Eddie Van Halen |magazine=Guitar Player |date=January 2000 |access-date=November 23, 2008 |archive-date=December 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224061525/http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/eddie-van-halen/jan-00/4788 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

All the club gig success led to the need for a demo tape, which was recorded at [[Cherokee Studios]] in Northridge where [[Steely Dan]] had recently completed an LP at the time. [[Rodney Bingenheimer]] saw Van Halen at Gazzarri's in the summer of 1976, and enticed [[Gene Simmons]] of [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] to see them. Impressed to action, Simmons produced a 29-track Van Halen demo tape, entitled "Zero" at [[The Village (studio)|Village Recorder]] studios in Los Angeles and with post-production overdubs completed at [[Electric Lady Studios]] in New York.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whiskyagogo.com/articles/770104.html |title=Whiskey Articles |publisher=Whiskyagogo.com |access-date=March 12, 2011}}</ref> Simmons suggested changing their name to "Daddy Longlegs." However, a very disappointed Simmons could do no more once Kiss management opined that Van Halen "had no chance of making it".<ref>Van Halen: The Early Years movie</ref>