Rock Report: The Original Van Halen Band

Fourteen years before their 1978 self titled debut album made them global superstars, Eddie and Alex Van Halen were making music, just not with David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony.

The picture above is of the brothers first band, called "The Broken Combs" in 1964. The brothers were taking music in school and met another set of brothers doing the same. So along with Kevan and Brian Hill, the founded the band.

The Broken Combs lasted for two years and was Eddie and Alex’s first band. Alex on saxophone (taking after his father, Jan), Eddie on piano, Brian Hill on drums, Kevan Hill on an Emenee-brand plastic guitar, and Don Ferris on second sax. They wrote some original tunes, such as “Rumpus” and “Boogie Booger”, and they would perform at the school lunchroom.

Alex was 11 and Eddie was 9 in the picture above.