Van Halen Reunion Tour Grosses $93 Million

It was a tumultuous ride that few expected would last, but the Van Halen sorta-reunion tour came to a close June 2nd in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the end, the tour grossed $93 million and played to nearly a million fans over the course of 74 shows. In retrospect, it wasn't the ego or antics of David Lee Roth but Eddie Van Halen's pre-jaunt rehab stay and March health issues that nearly submarined the tour. The shows marked the first time that Roth fronted the band in 23 years (though without bass player Michael Anthony, the original lineup remains estranged since 1985), and VH's handlers say it was the most successful tour of the long-running group's career.

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Song Stories

“Baby Got Back”

Sir Mix-a-Lot | 1992

While watching a Budweiser commercial during the Super Bowl, Sir Mix-a-Lot thought the skinny female models in the ad didn’t represent reality. So he wrote this ode to ample bottoms, featuring its famous to-the-point lyric: “I like big butts and I cannot lie.” MTV banished the video, featuring shaking booties and sexually suggestive fruit, to 9 p.m. or later. “I thought my career was over,” he told Rolling Stone. “Then I called Rick Rubin, and I told him the video was banned, and he was like, 'Great!' We sold another 2 million records.”

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