Van Halen ( B4 )

According to a January 4, 1977, L.A. Times article by Robert Hilburn, entitled "HOMEGROWN PUNK", Rodney Bingenheimer saw Van Halen at the Gazzarri club in the summer of 1976, so he took Gene Simmons of Kiss to see Van Halen. Simmons then produced a Van Halen demo tape with recording beginning at the Village Recorder studios in Los Angeles and finished with overdubs at the Electric Lady Studios in New York. Simmons wanted to change the band's name to "Daddy Longlegs", but the band stuck with Van Halen. Simmons then opted out of further involvement after he took the demo to Kiss management and was told that "they had no chance of making it" and that they wouldn't take them.

The Starwood Gig, a Major Label Deal and Recording the First Album

In mid-1977, Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman of Warner Bros. Records saw Van Halen perform at the Starwood in Hollywood. According to a December 1977 story in the Los Angeles Times, it was Van Halen's first booking at the Starwood and the first time they hired their own roadies. "We wanted to come on with a little class," David Lee Roth said, "and we couldn't be seen setting up our own stuff in Hollywood." Although the audience was small, Ostin and Templeman were impressed with Van Halen and within a week they offered the band a recording contract. The group recorded their debut album at Sunset Sound Recorders studio in mid-September to early October 1977, recording guitar parts for one week and then recording vocals for two additional weeks. All of the tracks were laid down with little over-dubbing or double-tracking. Minor mistakes were purposely left on the record and a simple musical set-up was used to give the record a live feel. During this time, they continued to play various venues in Southern California, including some notable concerts at the Pasadena Convention Center produced by their promoter and impresario, Steve Tortomasi, himself a fixture in the local rock and roll scene.

1978–1985: David Lee Roth era

Upon its release, Van Halen reached No. 19 on the Billboard pop music charts, one of rock's most commercially successful debuts. It was highly regarded as both a heavy metal and hard rock album.

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