Brothers - by Alex Van Halen

Book Synopsis

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In this intimate and open account--nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you've ever read--Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band mate.

Told with acclaimed New Yorker writer Ariel Levy Brothers is seventy-year-old drummer Alex Van Halen's love letter to his younger brother, Edward, (Maybe "Ed," but never "Eddie"), written while still mourning his untimely death.

In his rough yet sweet voice, Alex recounts the brothers' childhood, first in the Netherlands and then in working class Pasadena, California, with an itinerant musician father and a very proper Indonesian-born mother--the kind of mom who admonished her boys to "always wear a suit" no matter how famous they became--a woman who was both proud and practical, nonchalant about taking a doggie bag from a star-studded dinner. He also shares tales of musical politics, infighting, and plenty of bad-boy behavior. But mostly his is a story of brotherhood, music, and enduring love.

"I was with him from day one," Alex writes. "We shared the experience of coming to this country and figuring out how to fit in. We shared a record player, an 800 square foot house, a mom and dad, and a work ethic. Later, we shared the back of a tour bus, alcoholism, the experience of becoming successful, of becoming fathers and uncles, and of spending more hours in the studio than I've spent doing anything else in this life. We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime."

There has never been an accurate account of them or the band, and Alex wants to set the record straight on Edward's life and death.

Brothers includes never-before-seen photos from the author's private archives.

Review Quotes

"Most importantly, Brothers is a love letter to the music they created and Eddie, who has been called for decades one of the greatest guitarists of all time." -- NPR's Fresh Air

"A poignant love letter from Alex to his brother and bandmate Eddie." -- People

"Alex doesn't scrimp on entertaining anecdotes, such as how the roar that opens "Runnin' with the Devil" entailed ripping the horns out of their cars, and when on tour with Black Sabbath, frontman Ozzy Osbourne wandered into the wrong hotel and slept for two days." -- USA Today

"The tome is undeniably emotional, with some passages written directly to his late brother." -- Billboard

"Frank, funny." -- Rolling Stone