
Watch: ALEX VAN HALEN Honored With 'Buddy Rich Award' At 2024 DRUMEO AWARDS
February 4, 2025VAN HALEN drummer Alex Van Halen was honored with the Buddy Rich Award at the 2024 Drumeo Awards.
One of the most accomplished and well-known drummers of the 20th century, Buddy Rich is still a household name because of his virtuosic talents and his accomplishments as a bandleader. The recipient of this "hall of fame" award has made their name synonymous with drumming over decades of excellence. This may be through any combination of performance, recording, teaching, or all of the above.
Drumeo chose Alex Van Halen as the recipient of this year's Buddy Rich Award. As the co-founder of the legendary rock band VAN HALEN, Alex is known for his powerful and innovative drumming style. He played a pivotal role in shaping the band's sound, heavily influencing the hard rock and heavy metal genres. His work on classic albums such as "1984" and "Van Halen" have cemented his status as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time.
Video of Alex's speech accepting the Buddy Rich Award at the 2024 Drumeo Awards can be found below.
Alex is the co-founder of VAN HALEN and its original drummer. Born in Amsterdam and trained as a classical pianist, he graduated from Pasadena High School.
In his recently released "Brothers", Alex recounts his and his brother Ed's childhood in an 800-square foot house in Pasadena, with an itinerant musician father and proper Indonesian-born mother — how they arrived in the U.S. from the Netherlands and struggled to fit in. He also shares stories of musical politics, infighting and bad-boy behavior. The book includes never-before-seen photos from the author's private archives, as he sets the record straight on his brother's life and death in the first-ever accurate account of his family and the band.
Alex and Eddie formed a band called MAMMOTH in Pasadena, California in 1972, then renamed it VAN HALEN when singer David Lee Roth joined the group and, later, bassist Michael Anthony.
VAN HALEN was one of the biggest rock bands in the country in the 1980s, with hits like "Runnin' With The Devil", "Dance The Night Away", "Hot For Teacher", "Panama" and "Jump". The group, which later featured Sammy Hagar on vocals, was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.
The Van Halen family moved to Pasadena after emigrating to the U.S. from the Netherlands in 1962.
VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.
According to Modern Drummer, Alex was instrumental to VAN HALEN's electrifying, dramatic sound, leading the rhythm section on standout hits like "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love", "Unchained" and "Panama". His double-bass pedal work throughout "Hot For Teacher" was deeply influential, combining technical prowess with a restless, thoroughly original drum composition.
Eddie passed away in October 2020 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. Alex was by his side, as was Eddie's son, Wolfgang. The axeman died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.
In early 2022, it was confirmed that Alex had been in talks with Roth and guitarist Joe Satriani to put on a special show in honor of Eddie. However, Wolfgang later said that it was "in such an early stage that it never even got off the ground."