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December 30, 1999
At the Dutch television Millennium Top 1000 Alice Cooper's School's Out with Sammy Hagar on guitar reached number 244, Van Halen's Jump even make it up to the best 100 on number 49 and Michael Jackson's Beat It with Edward Van Halen on guitar number 35. At the Dutch radio Millennium Top 2000 Beat It make it to number 242 and Jump to number 181. On both lists Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody reached number 1.

December 29, 1999
Widespread Internet reports that Whitesnake's David Coverdale is in negotiations to become Van Halen's third singer are totally false acording to a Coverdale staffer. Longtime Coverdale tour manager Michael McIntyre tells that contrary to reports the singer has had no contact with the Van Halen camp. The rumor first surfaced in August with a detailed (and ultimately false!) report supposedly originating from a source at Warner Brothers that said Coverdale and the Van Halen brothers Alex and Edward had recorded over twenty songs together, including three new ones. The story gained some semblance of credibility when it was announced in early November that Gary Cherone had left Van Halen. The Van Halen/Coverdale ruse recently returned to the frontburner courtesy of an interview fleshing out the Van Halen sessions rumor that was e-mailed to a number of newsgroups and posted on Coverdale's web site! However, the radio station credited with the interview, 97.7 Htz in Southern Ontario, says the conversation never happened.
Link: www.mtv.com

December 20, 1999
VHLinks.com selected this site as "Site Of The Week Winner" for December 20, 1999.
Link: www.vhlinks.com

December 11, 1999
The Official Van Halen Magazine report David Lee Roth's concert review from this site in Issue 15, the Winter 1999 edition.

Link: www.the-inside.com

December 01, 1999
When the news came that Van Halen had parted company with Gary Cherone and was again in the market for a new lead singer, rumors abounded, and soon former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach's name was thrown in the mix. But before you start pondering how Bach would sound belting out Running With The Devil, calm down... the rumors are likely to remain rumors, according to Bach.

"The thing is, man, there's only one singer for Van Halen, and that's David Lee Roth, and if they've got no use for him, what possible use could they have for me?" Bach said: "If they don't like him, they definitely won't like me." While Bach has found himself fielding questions about the rumors, they remain completely unfounded, as the singer hasn't heard a word from the Van Halen camp.

"I've never been asked," Bach said. "I mean, when they're looking for singers and they pick Gary Cherone, they're thinking in ways that we're not. I mean, I love Gary. He's a really nice guy, but you can't be a really nice guy and be the lead singer of Van Halen! It just doesn't go together. You got to kick some ass, man, and he does kick ass in his Gary Cherone way. But David Lee Roth was doing kicks off of the drum riser and flying 40 feet in the air! It's a tough act to follow. I can't do that, but I can sing the Sammy Hagar stuff and the David Lee Roth stuff. I'm not bragging, I'm stating a fact."
Link: www.mtv.com

November 20, 1999
Edward Van Halen's hip replacement surgery took place Tuesday, November 16. Edward's wife, Valerie, posted on the Van Halen Mailing List that the surgery went incredibly well and he is now at home resting comfortably.

"I've known this was coming," said the rocker. "About a month ago it just gave out." The surgery took about an hour. At the musician's request, the only anesthetic was an epidural block. "Yeah, I was awake for the entire operation," laughs Edward. "Dr. Moreland and I were talking the whole time, and he showed me everything he was taking out. I even kept a piece of the bone." "He was more awake than anyone I've ever operated on," marvels Dr. Moreland. "He even made an audio recording of everything we were doing. Maybe he'll use it on an album."
Link: www.vhnd.com

November 13, 1999
Don't expect Van Halen to announce a replacement for recently departed lead singer Gary Cherone until sometime next year. Lead guitarist Edward Van Halen has other issues to deal with, not least of all, hip replacement surgery. The veteran guitarist will undergo surgery later this month to repair the damage incurred by over two decades of on-stage acrobatics. From the unsubstantiated rumor file, we do keep hearing reports that David Lee Roth will return to the fold in some capacity, and may begin recording material for the new record sometime soon. We'll keep you posted on this rumor, and of course Edward's condition, as further details come in on The Dutch Van Halen Web Site.

November 6, 1999
Gary Cherone has quit as lead singer of Van Halen!
The news began to break when the Hollywood Reporter and E! Online web sites reported the story. Earlier the rumor spread quickly across Van Halen email lists and message boards. The story gathered more credibility when sites such as MTV and Billboard ran with it.

Below is Van Halen's press release, courtesy of the Official Van Halen Web Site.

The members of Van Halen have announced that singer Gary Cherone is leaving the band. The band stressed that the departure was both mutual and amicable and they remain good friends. The band is currently working on its next LP and Cherone is pursuing new musical ventures.

The members of the band, Edward Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony, expressed their appreciation for Gary's work with the band and wished him well in his future endeavors.

"I had a great time singing with the band and I wish Edward, Alex and Michael all the best. I'll see 'em in Boston," said Cherone.

Edward Van Halen said, "Gary is a brother and he and I will continue to have a personal and musical relationship."
Link: www.van-halen.com