The rock super band Van Halen, whose roots go back to 1964 in Pasadena, CA, was once called Genesis in 1972 before discovering the name was already in use.

Genesis, which was founded in Surrey, England in 1967, featured drummer/lead singer Phil Collins.

The band changed its name to Mammoth shortly after finding the conflict with the Genesis tag.

In 1972, Van Halen (Genesis) featured brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen, Mark Stone and David Lee Roth. By 1974, Michael Anthony replaced Mark Stone as the bass player. Mammoth officially changed its name to Van Halen in 1974.

The foursome of Eddie, Alex, Michael and David were together from 1974-1985 and became one of the most successful rock acts of that period, particularly in the 1980s. The band's album "1984" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart and contained its only No. 1 single "Jump".

Rocker Sammy Hagar replaced Roth in 1985 and remained with Van Halen until 1996. During that time, the band had three albums reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart ("5150", "OU812", "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge").

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org