Humans Being

The Zoo Crew is spinning Humans Being by Van Halen from the Twister Motion Picture Soundtrack, and Zoo Freaks, this track’s got a wild story! Recorded for the 1996 disaster flick Twister, it was the last song featuring vocalist Sammy Hagar before his departure from the band that June. The song hit number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for two weeks, marking Van Halen’s 11th chart-topper, and even snagged a 1996 Metal Edge Readers’ Choice Award for Best Song from a Movie Soundtrack. But the recording process? Pure chaos. Hagar, chilling in Hawaii with his pregnant wife, was pressured to fly to 5150 Studios in Los Angeles. He initially penned the track as “The Silent Extreme,” but drummer Alex Van Halen renamed it “Humans Being.” The lyrics sparked major beef—director Jan de Bont explicitly said no tornado themes, wanting to avoid a movie narrative. Hagar, inspired by the film’s vibe of fear and infatuation, wrote about love’s dangerous pull, tossing in storm-chaser lingo like “suck zone” after getting 300 pages of technical terms from de Bont. Eddie Van Halen wasn’t thrilled, pushing to tweak the lyrics, but Hagar held firm with help from producer Bruce Fairbairn. The tension was so thick, Hagar and Eddie were practically screaming lyrics at each other in the video, barely acting.

Another juicy tidbit: the band was supposed to have 1996 off after their grueling “Ambulance Tour” for the album Balance, where Eddie hobbled with a cane, Alex wore a neck brace, and Hagar battled throat issues. Manager Ray Danniels pushed the Twister gig, promising big bucks, and he wasn’t wrong—the movie grossed $494 million worldwide. But the rush job led to compromises, like Eddie double-tracking vocals without bassist Michael Anthony’s usual harmonies. Hagar also wrote a ballad, “Between Us Two,” but it got scrapped, and when a second track was needed, Eddie and Alex delivered the instrumental Respect the Wind instead. Fans on Reddit still rave about the song’s heavy bottom end, with some recalling how car audio shops in the ’90s used it to test subwoofers. A 2021 post on X by music journalist Mitch Lafon called it “PRIME VAN HAGAR,” praising Eddie’s spectacular guitar and claiming original frontman David Lee Roth couldn’t have handled the vocals. The song’s raw energy, born from band friction, makes it a standout, compared by some to the dark aggression of Van Halen’s 1981 album Fair Warning.

Van Halen kicked off in 1972 in Pasadena, California, when brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen, born in the Netherlands and raised on classical music, ditched piano for guitar and drums. Teaming up with bassist Michael Anthony and singer David Lee Roth, they honed their hard rock sound playing backyard parties and dive bars around Los Angeles. By the mid-’70s, they were gigging at iconic spots like the Whisky a Go Go, catching the eye of Warner Bros. after a demo produced by Gene Simmons of Kiss didn’t pan out. Their 1978 debut album, Van Halen, with hits like “Runnin’ with the Devil” and “Eruption,” sold over 10 million copies and redefined rock with Eddie’s groundbreaking guitar techniques. The band cycled through vocalists—Roth, Hagar, and Gary Cherone—but their electrifying live shows and Eddie’s virtuosity kept them legends. Despite personal struggles, including Eddie’s health battles, they rocked on until his passing in 2020, leaving a legacy of 12 studio albums and a 2012 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Zoo Freaks can stay connected with Van Halen’s legacy through their official channels and fan communities. The band’s official website is vanhalen.com, packed with news, tour archives, and merch. Their Facebook page shares throwback photos and updates, while Instagram offers rare band footage and tributes to Eddie. On X, they post about milestones and fan events. Fans can dive deeper at Van Halen News Desk, a fan site with detailed articles and rare interviews, or join the Van Halen Fan Group on Facebook, where thousands swap stories and memorabilia. The r/vanhalen subreddit is another hot spot for debates on the band’s best eras and tracks like Humans Being.