“The band as you know it is over,” stated Eddie Van Halen to Rolling Stone in 1985, confirming the rumors of a divide in the band with David Lee Roth and adding the jab, “Dave left to be a movie star.” The first chapter of Van Halen's story was over, but how did it get to that point? Why did David Lee Roth exit Van Halen at the height of their ‘80s fame?

We now know Eddie Van Halen’s contribution to Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, laying down the solo on the hit song “Beat It.” Some say it didn’t sit well with Roth. According to the Van Halen News Desk, Eddie decided to do the guest turn not expecting how big it would become. “Certain people in the band at that time didn’t like me doing things outside the group,” recalled Van Halen. “But Roth happened to be in the Amazon or somewhere, and Mike was at Disneyland and Al was up in Canada or something, and I was home alone. So I thought, ‘Well, they’ll never know.’

As Van Halen’s career continued to build, eventually Eddie Van Halen started to take more creative control. One such move was the building of his 5150 Studio, The band recorded their sixth studio album 1984 in the studio in 1983, but Roth saw the move as a bit of a red flag, and DAVE WANTED TO TRY HIS HAND AT BEING A MOVIE STAR, so the band parted ways and the rest is history.