The most individual and under-celebrated drummer in the world, and a man who simply and sincerely enjoyed pounding on things — Alex Van Halen — was inducted into the Hollywood Rockwalk Hall Of Fame on this day in 1991, alongside Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice , John Bonham, Keith Moon, and Buddy Rich. Thats pretty good company!
Alex Van Halen places his handprints in cement as he is inducted to the Hollywood, CA Rock Walk, located in front of the Guitar Center music store on Sunset Boulevard. The Rockwalk is basically the music industry equivalent of movie stars handprints at Mann’s Chinese Theater nearby. There you’ll find the handprints of pretty much all major musicians and bands.
Eddie Van Halen was there, supporting his brother. Dozens of celebrities and hundreds of fans were there to witness the event. It was a wonderful and memorable day.
It must have been a trip for Alex to be there right alongside one of his biggest idols, Ginger Baker. Looking way back to 1971, the Van Halen brothers became known for their spot-on impersonations of cool hard rock bands like Baker’s band, Cream. Competing in a local battle of the bands against kids eight to ten years older, Alex was already stealing shows with a bombastic set piece — Ginger Baker’s entire fifteen-minute-plus drum solo from “Toad!”
Congratulations, Alex.
