10 Rock Bands That Were Successful After Major Lineup Changes

3. Van Halen

While the impetus of Van Halen has always been namesake genius guitarist Eddie Van Halen, the band's career can be clearly divided into two separate periods where different lead singers drove the sound in distinctive directions. Eddie and his drummer brother Alex teamed up with bassist Michael Anthony and vocalist David Lee Roth to create one of the most successful rock acts of the late 70s and early 80s. The band would release 6 albums with Roth as frontman, the most successful being "1984". That album spawned the wildly popular single "Jump", one of the most iconic rock songs ever recorded, as well as "Panama" and "Hot For Teacher". The album climbed all the way to #2 on Billboard, with Michael Jackson's "Thriller" preventing it's ascent to the top spot. Artistic and personal disputes led to the breakup of Roth and the rest of the band. After Patty Smyth declined the role of lead vocalist, Sammy Hagar got the spot thanks to a connection from a mutual friend. Hagar was fresh off a good year as a solo artist and joined the band as a singer and on-stage rhythm guitarist. Van Halen's first album with Hagar, "5150", was a smash hit as well. All four Hagar-fronted albums went to #1 on the charts with 17 top-12 singles and a Grammy. The brothers Van Halen are notoriously difficult to deal with (as most geniuses tend to be) and Hagar left the band in 1996. A brief run with Extreme's Gary Cherrone failed to gain any traction and multiple reunions with both Roth and Hagar followed. Currently the band consists of the Van Halen brothers, Roth and Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass. The loss of Michael Anthony is definitely felt as his vocal harmonies were a big part of the band's sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK5zubdgf4Y