In July of 1984, Edward Van Halen was the most popular musician in the world in the most popular band in the world-the band that to this day bears his own surname. As a 12-year-old, author Kevin Dodds experienced his first Van Halen concert, and it changed his life. In this biography, Dodds takes a comprehensive look at the life of Van Halen, one of the world's most famous and influential musicians. He examines Eddie's early years growing up in the Netherlands; his life with his mother and musician father; the family's immigration to the United States; his lifelong trials and tribulations; and his remarkable music career. For more than a year, Dodds delved into more than a thousand different sources to compile Edward Van Halen: A Definitive Biography, the story that captures the life of a man with complex personality and character traits whose life and times has played an important role in American cultural and musical history. Dodds has also woven his personal experiences with Van Halen as well as his own band into this story, providing a unique perspective in the field of rock-and-roll biographies.

EDWARD VAN HALEN: A Definitive Biography

By Kevin Dodds

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Kevin Dodds
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-5480-0

Contents

Preface..........................................................................viiAcknowledgments..................................................................xiDedication.......................................................................xiiiIntroduction.....................................................................xvPrologue.........................................................................xviiChapter 1: Life in the Netherlands...............................................1Chapter 2: Life in America.......................................................8Chapter 3: The Stringed Instrument...............................................14Chapter 4: Pasadena High School..................................................19Chapter 5: "Van Halen" in the Third Person.......................................24Chapter 6: Critical Years........................................................32Chapter 7: Van Halen and the Guitar-Making Artist................................38Chapter 8: Around the World......................................................45Chapter 9: Van Halen Again.......................................................53Chapter 10: The End of the Beginning.............................................58Chapter 11: Women First..........................................................64Chapter 12: "Does it seem cold in here to you?"..................................72Chapter 13: Take Cover...........................................................77Chapter 14: Public Relations.....................................................85Chapter 15: 1984 Minus One.......................................................91Chapter 16: The Peak.............................................................100Chapter 17: Dave Steps Aside.....................................................110Chapter 18: A Tabloid Marriage and a Random Phone Call...........................118Chapter 19: 5150 and the War of Words............................................123Chapter 20: Van Hagar Hits the Road..............................................131Chapter 21: A Spiral Begins to Take Shape........................................136Chapter 22: Who Ate What.........................................................142Chapter 23: Monsters On the Road Again...........................................149Chapter 24: Filling Time and Getting Help........................................153Chapter 25: One on the Way.......................................................157Chapter 26: Another Van Halen Production.........................................165Chapter 27: Awards and Live Overdubs.............................................175Chapter 28: A Friend Lost, and Some Ugly Scenes..................................182Chapter 29: Shot from the Hip....................................................194Chapter 30: The Reunion from Hell................................................204Chapter 31: Third Time's a Charm?................................................216Chapter 32: The Crash............................................................226Chapter 33: Staying Conscious....................................................230Chapter 34: The Diagnosis........................................................236Chapter 35: The Dissolution......................................................245Chapter 36: A Public Meltdown....................................................250Chapter 37: Sowing the Seeds of a Spectacular Failure............................259Chapter 38: A Year to Forget.....................................................281Chapter 39: The Lost Years.......................................................297Chapter 40: Strange Days.........................................................315Chapter 41: The Slow Journey Back to the Top of the Mountain.....................327Chapter 42: Almost Too Good to Be True...........................................345Chapter 43: Glory and That Rock in the Road......................................350Chapter 44: A New Husband, a New Man.............................................359Chapter 45: Waiting Patiently....................................................368Afterword........................................................................373About the Author.................................................................375Appendices.......................................................................379References.......................................................................397

Chapter One

Life in the Netherlands

There is no doubt that when you think of Edward Van Halen, one of the first things that does not come to mind is the Dutch East India Company. But if the roots of one human being's somewhat miraculous DNA makeup must be traced to a reasonable starting point, it would be with the world's first megacorporation.

In 1602, the United East Indian Company began colonizing Asia for the benefit of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The principal territory in which the VOC did business was within a string of islands nestled immediately south of The Philippines and just north of Australia. These islands then became known, fittingly, as the Dutch East Indies (or Netherlands East Indies). This was a world away from their colonial pillager the Netherlands, way up in the northwest corner of continental Europe, immediately west of Germany, north of Belgium, with the North Sea on its west and north coasts.

The VOC endured through a nearly two-century rule until things inevitably unraveled beginning in 1780, brought down by the engine of colonialism itself, corruption. Prior to its eventual disbandment in 1800, it was referred to as Vergaan Onder Corruptie ("perished by corruption"). The responsibilities of the VOC fell to the Netherlands in 1800. Rather than pulling back to appease countries like the United States, who obviously had some issues with colonialism, the Netherlands expanded their operations right up until the mid-twentieth century.

Europeans numbering in excess of a million traveled the thousands of ships on trade missions to perform all manner of potentially unspeakable colonial duties on the beautiful tropical island string. Many of these Europeans decided to stay and settle in the islands, a strange new land a half a world away, presenting new and different opportunities—and a major change in lifestyle. Inevitably, race mixing took place resulting in a people known as Indos or Eurasians, or more bluntly, Dutch Indonesians. The ratio of race mixing for people under this blanket description runs the gamut and it is impossible to assess that ratio without taking stock of one's physical appearance and making a fair judgment based on what physical traits are most prominent.

Thus was born a Eurasian woman in 1914 with the markedly Dutch name of Eugenia van Beers in the Dutch East Indies. Technically, she was the first "van" in the Van Halen family. Her given name gives no indication of the percentage of European genetics. In fact, on name alone, an assumption would practically be uncalled for. In viewing photographs of Eugenia, it is clear that she retained a significant portion of her native island ancestry. A reasonable assessment would be likely something approaching one-third European descent.

Back in Amsterdam, Jan van Halen was born in 1920 shortly after the end of World War I. Jan's name certainly suited his ancestry without a colonial tint or guesswork; he was a...