Alex Van Halen’s 2024 memoir Brothers, ghostwritten by New Yorker staff writer Ariel Levy, chronicles the life of the co-founder and drummer of the iconic rock band Van Halen. The book examines the Van Halens’ childhood, family, and early career as rock musicians. It also examines Alex Van Halen’s close relationship with his brother Eddie, who passed away in 2020 and is widely considered to be among the greatest and most influential rock guitarists in history. The book’s 15 chapters are more straightforwardly narrative, while its Overture, Interlude, and Coda function as eulogies for Eddie. The memoir focuses on The Impact of Upbringing on Personal Development, The Nature of Fame, and The Pursuit of Artistic Excellence. 

This study guide reflects the first edition of the book, published by HarperCollins.

Language Note: Because the author and his band share a name, the guide refers to Alex Van Halen by his full name or first name to avoid confusion.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of sexual content, substance use, and addiction.

Summary

Alex Van Halen was born in 1953 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and his brother Eddie was born nearly two years later. Their father, Jan, was a jazz musician who had played all over Europe; their mother pushed them to train as classical pianists. In 1962, the family immigrated to the United States, settling in Pasadena, California. Because they had not yet mastered English, Alex and Eddie formed a tight bond with one another while trying to fit in. Their father took jobs in a machine shop and as a janitor, but also continued to play jazz professionally. Both brothers won major awards in piano contests, and also became skilled at many other instruments because their father’s bandmates would frequently practice at their house. In elementary school, the brothers formed their first band—the Broken Combs. At 13, Alex played professionally for the first time, sitting in on drums with his father’s band.

Strongly influenced by bands of the British Invasion, specifically the Beatles and the Dave Clark Five, Alex and Eddie rebelled by drifting away from classical and jazz music and toward rock ‘n’ roll. To purchase a guitar for Alex and a drum kit for Eddie, they took odd jobs. Soon they realized that Alex was the better drummer and Eddie a guitar virtuoso, so they switched. As teenagers, they gained a firsthand education about musician life by playing with their father; alcohol was a big part of that. Alex and Eddie made it through high school despite getting into trouble and immediately set their sights on forming a rock band.

At one of their earliest gigs, a fight broke out between them and another band competing for the stage. The other band’s name was Red Ball Jet, featuring singer David Lee Roth. Knowing that Eddie was a great guitarist but a poor front man, they eventually auditioned Roth, whom they kept running into at parties. The audition didn’t go well, but Roth had a PA system, so they added him to their fledgling band, Mammoth. The brothers remained unimpressed with Roth’s singing, and his musical tastes were wildly different from theirs, but they knew that his charisma, work ethic, and stage presence would help them gain an audience. After receiving a cease-and-desist letter from another band named Mammoth, they settled on calling the band simply Van Halen.

During a gig at a high school in Pasadena in 1974, the band’s PA system blew up. Michael Anthony Sobolewski, the singer and bass player from their opening act, offered them his. Not long after, Sobolewski replaced Van Halen’s original bass player. With Sobolewski rounding out the lineup, they were determined to play on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, eventually landing a gig as the house band at the nightclub Gazzarri’s. After getting talked up by a local radio personality, they started to play better clubs and were seen by Ted Templeman, an executive and producer at the record label Warner Bros, who signed them to a contract weeks later. When Van Halen recorded their first album, Templeman expressed displeasure with Roth’s singing and wanted him replaced, but the other band members refused.

The band toured as an opening act for Black Sabbath in 1978. When they got back home, they realized they were famous. Over the next four years, they recorded four more studio albums and toured to support each one. During this time, conflict developed within the band, primarily over Roth’s quest for individual fame. More conflict arose when Eddie married actress Valerie Bertinelli in 1981, garnering celebrity buzz for something other than his guitar virtuosity. Then, when Eddie agreed to perform a solo for Michael Jackson’s 1982 single “Beat It,” the tension between Roth and the Van Halen brothers escalated even further.

In addition, Eddie felt constrained creatively because both Roth and Templeman were opposed to him playing keyboards. This led to Eddie’s decision to build his a recording studio in his home, which the band named 5150 (fifty-one-fifty). There, the band recorded their next album, 1984. The album became their best-selling one to date and produced their only number one single, “Jump,” which contains one of rock’s most famous keyboard riffs. Following the tour in support of 1984, Roth told the other band members that he was going to do a solo album, which Templeman was going to produce; Roth had also written a memoir and a screenplay. The other band members were angry, but also confounded because they had just reached the pinnacle of their success.