10 Rock Bands EVERYONE Tried To Copy

7. Van Halen

By the time rock reached the end of the '70s, it seemed to be too complicated for its own good. For as many bands like KISS and Aerosmith ruled the world, the god-like status they had never really seemed to be within the grasp of your everyday teenager.

The extravagance may have been out of reach, but Van Halen brought that party mentality back down to street level.

Breaking onto the scene with their colossal debut, Van Halen became kings of the Sunset Strip, with every song having a brilliant mix of pop, hard rock, and musical sophistication. Though the rest of the Strip didn't catch up until a little later, Van Halen became ground zero for what became known as hair metal, with David Lee Roth serving as the perfect example of how rock stars were meant to behave.

Roth may have enjoyed soaking in the spotlight, but if you were looking for the sound of hair metal, it was in the fingers of Eddie Van Halen, whose licks were copied by every guitarist in the game. Given his innovative use of tapping and incredibly fast melodic runs, Eddie's finesse on the instrument was heard all around LA, with everyone from Dokken to Poison trying to up their six-string abilities.

The '70s may have gotten a little self-indulgent, but Van Halen was the one band who made sure the next decade went off with a bang.

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