Gary Cherone - With Van Halen

With Van Halen

In 1996, one of the world's most famous rock bands, Van Halen, had a falling out with their 2nd lead singer, Sammy Hagar, who had been with the band since 1985. After a failed reunion attempt with original lead vocalist, David Lee Roth, who had been with Van Halen from 1974-1985, Van Halen was once again without a lead vocalist. At the urging of Van Halen's manager, Ray Danniels, (who also managed Extreme,) Cherone was called for an audition. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen liked Cherone's lyrics, as well as his work ethic, and in November 1996, Cherone became Van Halen's third lead vocalist. That year, Cherone took up residence in Eddie Van Halen's guest house and spent the next year writing and recording a new studio album.

Released on March 17, 1998, Van Halen III debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 album charts, selling 197,000 copies in its first week; 500,000 by summer (RIAA gold certified in the United States;) and over 700,000 copies as of 2011. Van Halen III featured an eclectic and diverse set of songs, marking a departure from the straightforward arena rock that Van Halen had played with Hagar, and contrasting with the tongue-in-cheek bombast that originally attracted Van Halen fans to singer David Lee Roth. Van Halen III's songs were often longer and more lyrically intricate than earlier Van Halen material. The album only produced one #1 Billboard rock hit: "Without You." Additionally, the track "Fire in the Hole" appears in a famous scene in Lethal Weapon 4 where a madman is shown setting cars and other items on fire.

By most band's standards the album would have been considered an unmitigated commercial success, but by Van Halen's standards, it was considered a flop. Neither the album nor the supporting tour performed to financial expectations (III was the first album in the band's career to not achieve at least double platinum status;) however, the tour was well received by fans. The tour brought back many older Van Halen songs that fans had wanted to hear since Roth's initial departure in 1984. This was largely because Sammy Hagar refused to play all but the most famous of Roth-era songs. Unlike the band's subsequent 2004 and 2007-2008 tours, Van Halen toured outside of North America in 1998, playing dates in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe as well. One date in Australia was filmed and aired on MTV.

Plans progressed for a follow-up album, to be released at the end of 1999. Releasing a new studio album a year after the previous one had not been done by Van Halen since 1982, when the band released Diver Down. Reportedly, in 1999, Van Halen's (then) record company, Warner Brothers, sent back the new Van Halen album twice, because they did not hear a "hit" pop single on it. Frustrated, Gary left Van Halen amicably. Since then, Cherone has remained on good terms with his former bandmates, and has gone on record numerous times with his thoughts on why the collaboration didn't work out.