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Tuesday 06 October 2020
He was one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time: Eddie van Halen. Now the legendary musician has died of cancer, as his son tweeted and US media reported.
Legendary rock guitarist Eddie van Halen has died. His father succumbed to cancer, his son Wolf Van Halen tweeted. “He was the best father I could wish for,” she wrote. The musician was a defining figure in the Van Halen band, with whom he celebrated worldwide success in the 1980s. The guitarist was considered a master of the strings and one of the best in his field.
The hard riffs made him immortal in the world of hard rock. He showed a first impression of his instrumental talent in 1977 with the 1:42 instrumental “Eruption”. The style of the guitar was new: Van Halen used technical effects to make the guitar sound even thicker with synths. Van Halen made his breakthrough just one year later with his debut album. But Van Halen also showed off his extraordinary guitar art solo. He can be heard as lead guitarist on Michael Jackson’s “Beat it” (1983).
According to Rolling Stone, Eddie Van Halen is ranked eighth among the best guitarists in the world. Cuck Berry and Jimmi Hendrix line up in front of him. Lead guitarist Mike McCready of Pearl Jam wrote of Van Halen’s style: “It sounded like it was from another planet … it was great, like hearing Mozart for the first time.”
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Eddie Van Halen himself once said in one of his rare Esquire magazine interviews: “Most people want to go to Hollywood. They want to be stars, they want to be rock stars. We never had that thought in the Van Halen family.” .
The siblings were born in Amsterdam, Holland, and migrated to California with their parents as children. They started playing guitar and drums at a young age, won music competitions, and eventually founded the Van Halen band while still in school.
Musically they remained successful for decades, but in private life it was more difficult for Eddie Van Halen. He divorced his first wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli, in 2007. In 2009 he married Janie Liszewski. Over and over he spoke openly about his addiction to alcohol and drugs. He said he got rid of it, but the excess left its mark.
Van Halen had battled throat cancer for years. He was 65 years old. Songs like “Jump” and “Ain’t talking bout Love” were among his band’s biggest hits.
