Alexander Arthur Van Halen (Amsterdam, May 8, 1953) is a Dutch-American drummer, who became famous through the band Van Halen.
Van Halen is the son of saxophonist and clarinetist Jan van Halen. His mother Eugenie van Beers was an Indo-Dutch of Javanese descent.
At a young age he moved with his family to Nijmegen, after which they moved to the American city of Pasadena (California) in 1962.
Alex van Halen learned to play the piano as a child. His brother Eddie also studied piano. Influenced by the popularity of rock-'n-roll music, Alex learned to play the guitar, and Eddie the drums.
It soon became apparent that Alex had more talent for drums than Eddie and Eddie had more talent for guitar than Alex. They switched instruments and founded the band Van Halen in 1974.
The band was discovered in 1977 by Gene Simmons. They scored hits such as Runnin' with the devil, Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love and Jump. On Rolling Stone magazine's 2019 list of the 100 greatest drummers in pop music history, Alex Van Halen was ranked 51st.
♪
I used to love dancing to 'Jump'! Happy memories ✨
I never knew that Alex and Eddie switched instruments! Eddie was too much of a performer to be on the drums.❤️