Jan Van Halen

Jan Van Halen
Native name Jan van Halen
Born 18 January 1920
Amsterdam
Died 9 December 1986
Pasadena, California
Genres Jazz music, swing music, orchestra
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Clarinet, saxophone
Years active 1930sā€“1982
Associated acts Van Halen

Jan Van Halen, born Jan van Halen (18 January 1920 ā€“ 9 December 1986), was a Dutch musician and the "patriarch" of the Van Halen family.[1]

He was the father of Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen, and the grandfather of Wolfgang Van Halen.

Life

Van Halen was born in January 1920 to Jannetje Berg and Hermanus van Halen, a butcher in Amsterdam.[2] He had already made a career in music when, at age 19, World War II erupted. He joined the Dutch air force and played marches for the troops until the country was occupied in 1940.

After the war, Van Halen emigrated to the Dutch East Indies where he further pursued his career and met his future wife, the Dutch-Indonesian Eugenie van Beers (1915ā€“2005). They married in August 1950 in Jakarta[2] and moved back to the Netherlands, arriving March 4, 1953.[3]

Alex was born two months later in Amsterdam. The Van Halen family moved to Nijmegen, where Eddie was born in 1955. Eugenia became convinced that it would be better for the family to emigrate to the United States. They left in February 1962 by boat and moved across the continent by train to Pasadena, California.[3]

Jan continued to play until a collaboration with his sons in 1982, which was to become his last performance. He died due to the effects of alcoholism in 1986.[1][4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dodds, Kevin (15 June 2014). "Jan Van Halen's Story". Van Halen News Desk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 Genealogy site managed by Eddie Van Halen
  3. 1 2 Roel de Neele, The Indo Dutch roots of Alex and Eddie Van Halen in 'Asal Oesoel', 22 July 2015
  4. ā†‘ Vanderborg, Carey (20 April 2012). "Eddie Van Halen: Guitarist Battles a Life Full of Alcoholism, Rehab and Cancer". IBT. Retrieved 22 February 2016.


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