10 Underrated Musicians In Legendary Bands

If you're going to a Van Halen show, you're not coming to see anyone else other than the guy on top of the bill. While both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar had an undeniable sense of swagger to their vocal delivery, it paled in comparison to the superhuman ability that Eddie Van Halen had when it came to igniting a lick out of thin air. So if the singer is getting overshadowed, imagine how you feel being the bass player.

Aside from having one of the coolest Jack Daniel's basses in the business, Michael Anthony tends to get the raw end of the deal throughout Van Halen's tenure, feeling more like an added extension than anything else. If you look at those classic records though, there's a lot more going on in the low end than you might think, with Anthony's attempts to keep up with Eddie making for some incredibly tight grooves between him and Alex Van Halen.

Then again, you can't bring up Mikey without his vocals, with a soaring high tone that set every single song over the edge, from the high pitched screams of On Fire to the almost girl group like sorrow in Jamie's Cryin. Even though Van Halen could continue on with Wolfie on bass, it came at the expense of one of the greatest background singers in the business.