In the late '70s and '80s, Van Halen ruled both arena rock and hard rock radio. The band's elaborate, dazzling stage shows delighted and metaphorically melted the faces of its millions of fans who came to see them perform their huge hits. We're talking about those heavy classics like "Runnin' With the Devil," "Dance the Night Away," "Jump," and "Panama." Nobody ever sounded quite like Van Halen, because they had a unique formula that couldn't be replicated: the otherworldly, light-speed guitar work of Eddie Van Halen, the propulsive drumming of his brother, Alex Van Halen, the crisp bass and backing vocals of Michael Anthony, and the party-time wailing of singer David Lee Roth, and after 1985, Sammy Hagar.
