Rock musicians Michael Anthony and Eddie Van Halen (1955 – 2020), both of the group Van Halen, perform onstage at the Jacksonville Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida, January 18, 1984. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images).
Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony has revealed something shocking: Van Halen almost stopped being called Van Halen. In a new interview with Steve Gorman Rocks!, Anthony says that the record label wanted Van Halen to change their name after Sammy Hagar came in as lead singer. Anthony confirmed the story, saying, “Warner Brothers wanted us to change the name of the band. I remember Eddie and Alex, we were at Warner Brothers, and they were yelling, going, ‘Hey, hey, this is our last name. This is our careers. And we’re Van Halen.’”
While a name change would have been out of the question, Hagar DID have a successful run with Van Halen, with each of his studio albums with the band going at least double platinum. Can you imagine Van Halen being called something else after so long? Do you think a name change would have affected the success of Van Halen?