The Epic Supergroup Nearly Formed by Eddie Van Halen

When David Lee Roth left Van Halen in 1985, the future of the band was entirely uncertain. Eddie Van Halen and his other bandmates offered the lead singer role to several musicians, however, none of them accepted. Thanks to the rejections, Eddie started looking down other avenues to keep his music career alive and thriving. And one of those avenues would have changed music history forever, though, it never came to fruition because Van Halen found their new vocalist, Sammy Hagar.

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Before discovering Sammy Hagar in 1985, Eddie was incredibly uncertain about the future of his career. Seemingly, he had zero idea what his future trajectory would be, and consequently, he came up with the idea of forming an ’80s supergroup.

How Eddie Van Halen Nearly Made Rock ‘n’ Roll History…Again

With or without the supergroup, Eddie Van Halen is a legend already, and we don’t need to paint you a picture as to why. However, if Van Halen never discovered Hagar, the legacy of Eddie would have been entirely different, and it’s all because of this ambitious musical dream.

In an interview with Guitar World in 1996, Eddie divulged how and why he was going to form this ’80s supergroup. He told the publication, “My plan at the time–and I wouldn’t necessarily have called it a solo record because Mike and Al would have played on it–was to get Mike Rutherford [Genesis], Pete Townshend, Phil Collins, and Joe Cocker, all of whom I had talked to.”

“I had written ‘Right Now’ back then and I wanted Joe Cocker to sing on it. It would have been f— great. That’s what I wanted to do, write a record where I did all the music and had a different singer on each song,” added Eddie. Just imagine if this plan were to have come to fruition.

Needless to say, it didn’t and regarding its failure, Eddie stated, “Logistically, it would have been a nightmare–people on tour, contractual agreements, companies pissing and moaning–and we’d probably only be finishing it now.” The guitarist concluded, “It would have been fun.”

Even though Sammy Hagar melded incredibly well with Van Halen, fans of Eddie can’t help but bite their tongue when they realize what could have been if he hadn’t joined the band. We are thankful for Hagar and what he accomplished, but given this tidbit of information, and if it did come true, we might have been just fine without him.

Photo by Getty Images/Bob Riha, Jr.