Mitch Malloy and the Super Secret Van Halen that Almost Was [VIDEO]

Back in 1996, Van Halen had problems with Sammy Hagar, and needed a new singer.  It doesn't matter which side of the Van Hagar split you're on, the point is that they were looking for someone to continue on with.

Meanwhile, in Nashville, there was an out-of-place rock guy with long hair, named Mitch Malloy.  Mitch's road manager was working with Van Halen's manager, andwent the question came up about who could do the job, he immediately said, "Mitch Malloy can do this."

So the band flew Mitch out to LA, and they did some jamming together, and (according to the story) Eddie said to Mitch, "You're the nicest f---ing guy I've ever met, you're the best f---ing singer I've ever heard. Congratulations, you're in the band!"

They hugged, they worked, they prepared themselves for the new album, and the new Van Halen.  Oh, and the three other guys had to do an MTV awards presentation.  No big deal.

No one mentioned they were presenting with David Lee Roth.  No one mentioned the storm of "David's back in the band" insanity that would start after their appearance on TV.

needless to say, Mitch freaked out a little bit, being a huge Van Halen fan himself.  He wanted DLR back in the band.  So he made the decision that this wasn't a good situation for him, and bowed out of the band.  This left the band to their own devices, resulting in the hire of Gary Cherone, and the travesty that was Van Halen III! Which has been described as an Eddie Van Halen solo record.  Apparently he played a lot of bass and drums on it, as well as singing one of the songs.

Find out why this story was kept so quiet for so long, and how Mitch is doing now.  Check out this video, and feel free to come up with your own funny caption for the picture!