How Much Did Michael Anthony Contribute To Classic Van Halen

[BALLYJUNKIE]

IN THE SONGWRITING CREDITS ON CLASSIC VAN HALEN ALBUMS IT ALWAYS SAYS WRITTEN BY EDDIE .ALEX .MICHAEL AND DAVE ..... MOST OF US THINK THAT EDDIE WROTE THOSE CLASSIC RIFFS AND DAVE WROTE THE LYRICS... BUT HOW MUCH DID MICHAEL ANTHONY CONTRIBUTE IN THE SONGWRITING PROCCESS , BESIDES GREAT HARMONY VOCALS ... DID HE WRITE ANY OF THOSE CLASSIC RIFFS . AINT TALKIN BOUT LOVE . MEAN STREET . PANAMA . AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK . HE HAD TO CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING ,WHY ELSE WOULD WOULD EVERY VAN HALEN SONG GIVE CREDIT TO ALL 4 OF THEM EQUALY?

[fe_lung]

Originally posted by BALLYJUNKIE
HE HAD TO CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING ,WHY ELSE WOULD WOULD EVERY VAN HALEN SONG GIVE CREDIT TO ALL 4 OF THEM EQUALY?

Not necessarily. Many bands agree to split songwriting credit equally for any number of reasons.(REM, Janes Addiction, and U2 come to mind right away).. a big one being to ensure that all members are treated (and compensated) equally. Also, if the song grows out of jamming together, then it's not unreasonable to say each person had an equal part in the process....

[Polk High]

I do think on VH 1 anthony isn't mentioned on any of the song credits. Although David Roth is mentioned (who the hell is David Roth

[Jimmy Jingles]

He contributed faggity assed bass solos at concerts.

I'm sorry, I love Mike and all but damn those solos were like watching cats fuck...loathesome and offensive, yet I cant look away.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Originally posted by jimmyjingles
He contributed faggity assed bass solos at concerts.

I'm sorry, I love Mike and all but damn those solos were like watching cats fuck...loathesome and offensive, yet I cant look away.

Well, whatever they were, they were Dave's idea.

By 1980-81, the band were trying to get Mike to do a bass solo spot since Al had his drum solo and of course there was Eddie's solo.

Dave came up with the idea that since Mike was not a technical bass player ala Billy Sheenan, that he instead throw in a bunch of cool sound effects and have him pound on his bass and run around like a madman.

Of course, Mike took to higher levels of stupidness, yet it was initially Dave's idea.

[BrownSound1]

I'd say Mike came up with a lot of the background harmonies...figure he's probably pretty good at that.

[Matt White]

I'm starting to think he wrote ALL the CLASSIC riffs...and they stopped letting him Cuntribute after 1984....

Mike is the secret weapon behind CLASSIC VAN HALEN & EVH has been living off him his entire career.....





































or,.......maybe not...........

[zeronumber]

He contributed backup vocals, and bass lines.

BtW, Matt, Like your new sig bro!!!

[Big Fat Sammy]

His contribution to Van Halen was not getting in the way of the cool dudes in the band. He reminds me of this old joke....


A journalist visits Africa to interview a tribal chief. As soon as he gets off the plane he hears loud drums beating an obsessive rhythm.

'What do those drums mean?' he asks a steward.

'Man, dem drums is good news. When dem drums stop then you got big trouble!'

Confused, the journalist moves into a hotel while the drums continue their incessant beating. In the morning, after a sleepless night, he asks the hotel attendant for an explanation.

'Why are these drums beating all the time?', asks the anguished journalist. 'Don't they ever stop?'

'Man, dem drums is real good news,' replies the attendant. 'When dem drums stop playing den you got big trouble!'.

Finally, exhausted from the constant pounding, the journalist reaches the tribal village and interviews the chief.
'First of all,' says the journalist. 'I have to know what those drums mean'.

'Man', says the chief, 'dem drums is great news! When dem drums stop beating den real big trouble starts'.

'But I must know, what happens when the drums stop?'

'When de drums stop, terrible thing happens. Then you get the bass solo'.

[Big Fat Sammy]

:rotf:

One more Bass Player joke.....


A man gives his son an electric bass for his 15th birthday, along with a coupon for four bass lessons. When the son returns from his first lesson, the father asks, "So, what did you learn?" "Well, I learned the first five notes on the E string." Next week, after the second lesson, the father again asks about the progress, and the son replies, "This time I learned the first five notes on the A string." One week later, the son comes home far later than expected, smelling of cigarettes and beer. So the father asks: "Hey, what happened in today's lesson?" "Dad, I'm sorry I couldn't make it to my lesson; I had a gig!"

[theicecreamman]

To be honest I don't think he did much. Eddie wrote the riffs and Dave wrote the lyrics.

[Bill Lumbergh]

And the m-m-m-m-melodies............

[Dirty Duck]

I liked mike back in the day...although to be honest,he always seemed to be in the background.Never really flashy...kinda quiet.Really had no problem with him until he jumped on the HAGAR bandwagon and started talkin' shit about dave. I never recall dave saying one thing about him to the press. Anyhow..besides his constant smiling..i sometimes forget he was in the band...

[Hardrock69]

Originally posted by Vinnie Velvet
Well, whatever they were, they were Dave's idea.

By 1980-81, the band were trying to get Mike to do a bass solo spot since Al had his drum solo and of course there was Eddie's solo.

Dave came up with the idea that since Mike was not a technical bass player ala Billy Sheenan, that he instead throw in a bunch of cool sound effects and have him pound on his bass and run around like a madman.

Of course, Mike took to higher levels of stupidness, yet it was initially Dave's idea.

Uhhh no. He was doing bass solos earlier than that. Like on their VERY FIRST TOUR!!!

I actually posted a couple of pics of Mikey during his solo on Sept. 29, 1978 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

[Big Fat Sammy]

Originally posted by Hardrock69
Uhhh no. He was doing bass solos earlier than that. Like on their VERY FIRST TOUR!!!

I actually posted a couple of pics of Mikey during his solo on Sept. 29, 1978 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

He's been doing it that long? damn.

It's a really cool part of the show 'cause you can hear everything just as clearly when you're in the bathroom, and getting another beer and hotdog.

It's the PERFECT time for that....like an intermission, but you can hear it in the john, a mile away.

[Hardrock69]

Well, considering it is all low end....I would agree...

Low frequencies travel farther. Like for instance, our submarines use ultra-low frequencies to communicate under water.

Whales can hear each other a third of the way around the Earth....

[Vinnie Velvet]

Originally posted by Hardrock69
Uhhh no. He was doing bass solos earlier than that. Like on their VERY FIRST TOUR!!!

I actually posted a couple of pics of Mikey during his solo on Sept. 29, 1978 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

Okay.

But its obvious that Mike was not great at just playing bass parts then.

And that's when Dave came up with the idea of him doing the bass solos like everyone is used to hearing and seeing him do.

Whatever kind of bass solo he TRIED to do as early as their first tour, it wasn't what he started doing by the Fair Warning tour.

[Big Fat Sammy]

Originally posted by Hardrock69

Whales can hear each other a third of the way around the Earth....

So Sammy can hear 'em too!

[victimofscience]

I'd say that if those bass solos are really Dave's idea, that is a big strike against Dave. A bass solo from Cliff Burton or Billy Sheenan is interesting. I always skip the bass solos in the VH bootlegs I own. I like his playing in the band, fills the background, decent thump, thump, thump with an occaisional high note thrown in for fun.

On the other hand, when I suffered through Van Hagar on the monsters of rock tour, the bass solo wasn't the worst part of the show anymore.

[DrMaddVibe]

You want to know what bassplayer brought to the table? Here, I'll tell you....

























































Fucking NOTHING!


He kept his mouth shut, his pants zipped and did whatever EdWad and Alice told him to do.

Sorry, I can't call his bass solos anything special. They're infantile and if anything a time to make a pit stop or a beer run. You don't miss a damn thing. His vocals live are akin to electrocuting 3 squirrels. Some blather that he's the "perfect bassist" because he gives Ed a blank canvas to play from...truth is Ed writes the basslines too!

[Dave's Bitch]

not alot

[Big Troubles]

He filled in where Dave didn't with the harmony. His backgrounds on the early Classics are duely noted. His best bass work came off VH1,2 and FW. The rest he was replaceable.