With the rock n’ roll hall of fame induction happening this
week I wanted to take a look at one of the biggest no-shows in the rock halls history,
Van Halen. Or maybe they should be called a partial no-show.The year was 2007 and the members
of the rock community who inducted Van Halen would have a similar set of circumstances happen
half a decade later when time came for their induction. Today let’s explore the full story.
In 2007 the rock hall would induct several acts including R.E.M.,,
Patti Smith, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, the Ronettes and today’s topic Van Halen.
That night the rock hall would be inducting the David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar era of the band.
Van Halen’s last tour would wrap up in 2004 with Sammy Hagar fronting the band
and it ended on pretty bad terms with Hagar leaving the group shortly after. Side note,
I’ve done a whole video on that tour, the link is down below. Meanwhile bassist Michael Anthony
would leave the band around 2006 , being replaced by guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang.
Inducting Van Halen that night would be Supergroup Velvet Revolver, side note I’ve done a whole video
on Velvet Revolver’s rise and fall the link is down below. It would mark the second time
the supergroup would be asked to induct a band into the rock hall in just two years.
The first band they were asked to induct was the sex pistols in 2006,
but the pistols were a no show rleeasing a statement to the rock hall that read
“Next to the SEX-PISTOLS rock and roll and that hall of fame is a piss stain. Your museum.
Urine in wine. Were not coming.” I“Were not your monkey and so what?
Fame at $25,000 if we paid for a table, or $15000 to squeak up in the gallery,
goes to a non-profit organisation selling us a load of old famous. Congratulations. If you
voted for us, hope you noted your reasons.” ; “Your anonymous as judges, but your still
music industry people. Were not coming" the statement would read.
Something similar happened the following year with Van Halen. No members of the band at that time
showed up to the ceremony and the only people who did show up were Sammy Hagar and Michael
Anthony. Meanwhile Van Halen’s third singer Gary Cherone would be excluded by the rock hall
and commented on his exclusion saying “To answer the few fans who are wondering whether I should,
or shouldn't, be included. While yes, I was a small part of their history,
I was certainly not a part of their legend, and that is what WE, the fans, are celebrating!"
Hagar would tell MTV his thoughts on Gary Cherone being excluded saying
"I got nothing against Gary, but I would've voted against him getting in. I think he was really
just a moment in VAN HALEN. Dave [Lee Roth] and I were in the band for so long, and we sold so many
records and I don't think you can deny that. As it stands, it seems a little goofy if you let Gary
in. Because, there was questions about me getting in, because I've only been in the band 21 years
It was initially reported that all the members of Van Halen who were being
inducted that year would be in attendance according to Premiere Radio Networks.
The outlet revealed that all inductees had already reserved a table, but stressed that Eddie
and his brother Alex would not be performing. The induction ceremony took place on March 12,
2007 in New York City. By late 2006 and early 2007 there were rumblings of a van halen reunion with
david lee roth. Four days before the induction ceremony was set to take place guitarist Eddie
Van Halen announced that he was entering rehab. It was also around this time that frontman David
Lee Roth confirmed the reunion revealing that the band would be hitting the road that summer.
The guitarist would release a statement stating the following “I have always and will always
feel a responsibility to give you my best. At the moment I do not feel that I can give you
my best. That’s why I have decided to enter a rehabilitation facility to work on myself, so
that in the future I can deliver the 110 percent that I feel I owe you and want to give you.”
He would add: “Some of the issues surrounding the 2007 Van Halen tour are within my ability
to change and some are not. As far as my rehab is concerned, it is within my
ability to change and change for the better.” It was during a 1995 interview with Rolling
Stone that the guitarist revealed he had already went to rehab twice..
In the same interview he revealed once getting arrested for driving under the influence
after leaving an AA Meeting after hearing people’s horrific sob stories stating
“I always got hammered to be able to cope,” “I have zero social skills and
I don’t know how to act, so I get drunk. And then I make a real ass out of myself.”
By April of 2007 he would leave the treatment facility thus forcing him to skip the hall of fame
induction. His brother would follow suit staying close to his brother to lend him support. It was
initially reported that David Lee Roth would be in attendance with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony,
but disputes between Roth and Velvet Revolver led him to pulling out. Velvet Revolver frontman Scott
Weiland would reveal the reason behind the dispute recalling backstage at the rock hall
"We were asked to perform. Kinda what happened was, [David Lee Roth] wanted to sing the song
'Jump.' We felt from an artistic standpoint, and I'm being totally honest with you,
that it wasn't a song we felt comfortable with. We don't have keyboards. To bring a
keyboard on stage wouldn't work for us. We said we'd do 'Jamie's
Cryin' ' or 'You Really Got Me,' and he was adamant that that wasn't OK."
Roth for his part would reveal as reported to the LA Times that read ". It's just not
an option for me to go and watch some other band--who are only performing because they
have some new record coming out--do our music. I have nothing against Velvet Revolver--I'm
not familiar with their music--but that was my three minutes and 22 seconds up there."
The Rock Hall meanwhile put out their own statement that read "The Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame is sorry that David Lee Roth will not attend this year's induction of Van Halen. We offered him
opportunities to play and sing a Van Halen song of his choice with our House band, including
his own guitar player or a song with Velvet Revolver and he refused those opportunities."
Velvet Revolver would end up covering two songs, as part of the induction ceremonies including the
David Lee Roth era 1978 hit ain't talkin bout love and the sammy hagar era song runaround..
Meanwhile Hagar and Anthony would get on stage and perform “Why Can’t This Be Love.”
So what did Sammy Hagar think of the whole thing. Well in 2009 interview he gave to Thiago Sarkis
he would slam Roth’s behavior in the run up to the ceremony saying
. I know the guys in that band (referring to Velvet Revolver) Dave was calling them up every
day driving them crazy to get them to let him sing with them. That's why it got all screwed up,
because Dave wanted to do it his way. And they were only allowed to do two songs,
and he was trying to do two songs with them and not me. Dave was playing his bullshit Dave games
and he fucked it all up! And 'cause they told him, 'No, Sammy's gonna sing a song and you're
gonna sing a song with VELVET REVOLVER,' and Dave said, 'Fck you, then I am not coming.'"
If you guys remember 5 years prior Hagar and Roth would do a tour
together and I’ve done a whole video on that tour the link is down below.
In the same interview Hagar would go on to criticize Velvet Revolver’s
performance which a lot of people did. He would reveal
I don't think it was very good and I really like those guys. It was unfair to take a young band
like that, that had only been together for one album and try and make them try to be VAN HALEN.
I think it was a little bit of a mistake but it wasn't their fault cause they are great and I like
those guys a lot, they are really good friends. Slash is a great guitar player when he is playing
his stuff. But for Slash to try and play Eddie's stuff was wrong. They should have had Steve Vai or
Joe Satriani, or somebody like that to play the part. They should have had a legend induct and
put together a great bunch of players who are more adapted to VAN HALEN to do the tribute."
The rock hall induction would prove to be a mess and it was foreshadowing of what
would happen to Velvet Revolver who broke up a year later. In addition to that it would also
foreshadow Guns N’ Roses induction ceremony that took place five years later in 2012.
Frontman Axl Rose was still on bad terms with Slash and was a no show
and even sent an open letter requesting that he not be inducted.
But following Guns N’ Roses induction that year, Slash would tell the Star Tribune his
thoughts on the Van Halen induction and how it compared to his own experience revealing
"The Van Halen induction was a nightmare," Slash said. "It wasn't fun. And we were potentially a
mirror image of that. Now at this point, [GNR's induction] is something I'm really happy I did
because it was very close to not happening at all. It turned out that, in the moment,
it was a really positive and fulfilling experience he would say. In 2020 Eddie van halen would pass
away due to a stroke while also battling cancer for half a decade. Duing the virtual 2020 rock and
roll hall of fame induction ceremony a month after his death a tribute would be held to the Van Halen
guitarist Guns N' Roses Slash, Metallica's Kirk Hammet and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello
would partake in the tribute. During an appearance on the howard stern show in 2020 his song wolfgang
would announce that van halen would not continue without his father saying "you can't have van
halen without eddie van halen.' That does it for today's video guys thanks for watching. Be sure
to hit the like button and subscribe and we'll see you again on rock n' roll true stories. Take care.