Mitch Malloy: Van Halen’s Replacement for Sammy Hagar…Almost

Mitch Malloy with Eddie Van Halen circa 1996

Mitch Malloy with Eddie Van Halen circa 1996

Wonderbred from Scorpio Rising shared this with me over the weekend.

Interesting story of Mitch Malloy, a guy who Van Halen pulled in and unofficially welcomed to the band…before their appearance with David Lee Roth on the ’96 MTV Music Awards marked the “reunion” of the original line-up.

The song playing over the end credits is “It’s The Right Time,” a tune that Mitch wrote with Van Halen during their short stint together. It was later recorded for, but not released on, Van Halen IIIĀ with Gary Cherone at the helm, entitled “That’s Why I Love You.”

I also found an additional recording of the short-lived line-up of Mitch Malloy and Van Halen playing “Panama.”