The first time Eddie Van Halen and I met, it was around 1977.

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Van Halen, founded by guitarist Eddie Van Halen, are one of America's most successful hard rock bands, with hits including Dance The Night Away and Jump.

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He followed in the grand tradition of Journey's Steve Perry, forced to retire because of his arthritis in 1998, and Eddie Van Halen, who needed hip replacement surgery in 1999 and is currently battling cancer.

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