While Anthony was a good baseball player (catcher), his main interest in life was music once he left high school. His first band was called Poverty's Children. Other bands he played in included Black Opal, Balls and Snake.
In 1974, Eddie Van Halen, his brother Alex Van Halen along with David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony became known as Van Halen. They were signed to Warner Brothers in 1977 and released their self titled debut album on February 8, 1978.