Gary Cherone

Gary Francis Caine Cherone (born July 26, 1961) is an American rock singer and songwriter.

Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme and Van Halen.

He has also released solo recordings.

After a failed reunion attempt with original lead vocalist David Lee Roth, who had been with Van Halen from 1974 to 1985, Van Halen was once again without a lead vocalist.

At the urging of Van Halen's manager, Ray Danniels (who also managed Extreme), Cherone was called for an audition.

In 1979 Cherone and drummer friend Paul Geary along with guitarist Matt McKay, formed a hard-rock band called Adrenalin, which performed locally.

By the late 1980s, the group had attracted a large regional following; in 1987, the band signed with A&M Records, which released their self-titled debut album in 1989.

In 1981, they changed the band's name to The Dream and recorded a six-song independent vinyl EP.

A few years later, Cherone and The Dream appeared in a music video produced by David Horgan, on the early MTV program, Basement Tapes, a show in which the viewing audience "voted" (via a toll-free telephone number) for one of two competing amateur music videos submitted by unsigned artists.

The Dream's video for "Mutha, Don't Wanna Go to School Today", won their contest, beating a then-unknown Henry Lee Summer by just 1% of the total vote.

In 1985, Cherone and Geary met guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and bassist Pat Badger in an altercation over a dressing room, but the rivals soon became collaborators and shortly after the combined foursome took the name Extreme, and began writing their own material.

The name Extreme came from a play on the words "Ex-Dream".

Selling over 250,000 copies, the band's debut album justified a second, and in 1990 the band recorded the critically acclaimed Extreme II: Pornograffiti, a mix of hard rock, funk, and pop propelled by Bettencourt's guitar playing.

The album's lyrical content, mostly written by Cherone, was loosely based on the concept of a fictional young boy named "Francis" and his observations of a decadent, corrupt, and misogynistic society.

Although well received by the rock world in the press, initial sales and chart success for the album were sluggish until A&M released the acoustic ballad "More Than Words" in the early spring of 1991.

The song was picked up by mainstream radio and became a huge smash, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that summer.

Extreme II: Pornograffiti was eventually certified double platinum.

Also in 1991, Extreme toured in support of David Lee Roth.

Cherone's career came full circle in April 1992 when he performed "Hammer to Fall" onstage with the three surviving members of Queen at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium.

Extreme also performed a medley of Queen hits during the first half of the concert.

Later that year, Extreme released III Sides To Every Story, a concept album.

Extreme's 1995 recording,

Waiting for the Punchline, was a stripped-down affair that was only modestly successful.

After the supporting tour, Bettencourt became dissatisfied and left the group to launch a solo career.

Extreme officially folded soon afterward.

In 1996, rock band Van Halen had a falling out with their second lead singer, Sammy Hagar, who had been with the band since 1985.

Guitarist Eddie Van Halen liked Cherone's lyrics, as well as his work ethic, and in November 1996 Cherone became Van Halen's third lead vocalist.

That year, Cherone took up residence in Eddie's guest house and spent the next year writing and recording a new studio album.

Released on March 17, 1998, Van Halen III debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 197,000 copies in its first week then 500,000 by summer (RIAA gold certified in the United States) and over 700,000 copies as of 2011.

The album featured an eclectic and diverse set of songs, marking a departure from the straightforward arena rock that Van Halen had played with Hagar and contrasting with the tongue-in-cheek bombast that originally attracted Van Halen fans to Roth.

Van Halen III's songs were often longer and more lyrically intricate than earlier Van Halen material, giving it a progressive influence.

The album only produced a sole No. 1 Billboard Mainstream Rock hit in Without You.

By most band standards the album would be considered an unmitigated commercial success but by Van Halen's standards it was considered a flop.

Neither the album nor the supporting tour performed to financial expectations, and Van Halen III was the first album by the band to not achieve at least double platinum status.

However, the tour was well received by fans.

Cherone was afraid that he would be rejected by the Van Halen fan base and urged his bandmates to not limit the set list to songs recorded with their current lead vocalist, as they had done when Hagar joined the group.

In 2007, he reunited with Extreme.

Cherone grew up in Malden, Massachusetts and attended Malden High School.

He is the third of five brothers and the younger fraternal twin of Greg Cherone.

In his teenage years, Cherone turned to singing in local bands and was heavily influenced by the reigning rock frontmen of the day, most notably Roger Daltrey of The Who, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, and Queen's Freddie Mercury.