Van Halen is an international hard rock band formed in the early-1970s, originally called Mammoth (before being called Van Halen, one of the band's ideas for a name was Rat Salade). The band's first studio album, "Van Halen", released in 1978 is widely regarded as a milestone in rock music. With this first release, the band, featuring David Lee Roth on vocals, Michael Anthony on bass, and Dutch-born Edward Van Halen on guitars (and also keyboards later) and brother Alex Van Halen on drums, established itself as a leader in the emerging and commercially successful U.