When Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen sat down to write Brothers — his much-anticipated memoir about life, music and the tumultuous journey with his late brother Eddie Van Halen — fans expected a full account of the band’s history. What many didn’t expect was that Sammy Hagar, the band’s singer for much of the 1980s and ’90s, would barely get a mention.
Alex has been candid about why that omission happened: for him, Brothers wasn’t meant to be a comprehensive “tell-all” of every lineup and era. He has repeatedly stated the book focuses on Eddie and the early chemistry that became Van Halen’s original sound, particularly the band’s formative years with singer David Lee Roth. When asked why the Hagar era is absent from his narrative, Alex bluntly said the band “did our best work with Dave” — referring to Roth — and that the magic of Van Halen’s creative spark belonged to that first era.
In interviews promoting Brothers, Alex made clear that he didn’t want the memoir to become a gossip-ridden rock biography full of dirt and disputes. Instead, he wanted a story centered on the bond he shared with Eddie and the intense drive that carried the band from suburban beginnings to global superstardom. Brothers wraps its story before the post-Roth years take center stage, effectively drawing a line in the band’s history and leaving out later chapters that some fans view as equally significant.
That editorial choice hasn’t come without controversy. Former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar — who sang on four Van Halen albums and helped the band sell millions of records — has publicly criticized the omission. Hagar has called Alex’s exclusion of the “Van Hagar” era “blasphemy” to Eddie’s legacy, arguing that the music he and Eddie wrote together — including multiple No. 1 albums and worldwide tours — deserves recognition and respect in the band’s official story.
The tension between Alex and Hagar stretches back decades. They haven’t spoken in over 20 years, and Hagar has suggested that unresolved business disputes — including a contentious tequila brand venture — contributed to their estrangement long after Hagar left the band in the mid-1990s.
Alex has maintained that the exclusion wasn’t meant to be dismissive of anyone’s contributions — he simply views the band’s creative “magic” as rooted in those early years with Roth and Eddie. “The essence and the spirit and the balls-to-the-wall was the first model,” he said, explaining why Brothers ends before the Hagar era begins.
Still, fans and critics alike continue to debate the memoir’s scope. Some appreciate Alex’s focus on personal history and emotion, while others feel the omission of an entire decade of the band’s output feels incomplete. Regardless, Brothers provides a deeply personal look at the Van Halen brothers’ unique partnership — and, in doing so, reignites discussions about how rock legends choose to tell their own stories.
