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Turn Me Up Real Loud: The Making of Van Halen's Debut

There's no doubt about it — Van Halen is one of the most influential rock bands of all time. They've sold over 56 million albums in the US, including at least 10 million copies of two different albums, and hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Rock charts.

As for the music itself, Van Halen created a unique mix of hard rock, blues and heavy metal that featured a sonic force never heard before. The combination of Eddie Van Halen’s innovative guitar playing, David Lee Roth’s near-performance art approach to being a frontman and the powerful Van Halen/Anthony rhythm section cemented them as rock gods. The off-stage antics like the "no brown M&Ms" on their rider? The cherry on top of it all.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Van Halen's debut, we're taking a look at back at the band's history and the recording process of their first album. Read on to learn how all of this started just because Eddie needed a PA system…

This is an excerpt from Turn Me Up Real Loud: The Making of Van Halen's Debut, originally published by Vintage King. Read the full version here.

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