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When a major celebrity passes away, never seen before memorabilia often pops up almost immediately. Eddie Van Halen is no exception. Below is a redacted copy of a performance contract for Van Halen, then going by the group name Mammoth, to play a backyard party (redacted) for just $150.00. Actually, that price was about the going rate for an up and coming local band in those days. In today’s dollars adjusted for inflation that’s around $907.00. What is very interesting is how the contract is written, making it appear that “Van Halen” is performing even though the group was not going by that name until 1974. Also, note that Eddie using his full legal name as the payee and as the representative for Van Halen. We were told by the contributor of this contract that the group did use the name Mammoth during the performance, but being that the date of the party was December 29, 1973, was it possible that the future name change to Van Halen was already in the works? One can only speculate.
