Guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen passed away at 65

by



[ad_1]

Eddie Van Halen, lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock group Van Halen, has died after “a long and arduous battle with cancer.”

The 65-year-old musician, who is often referred to as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, had been living with throat cancer for several years.

Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen, who became Van Halen’s bassist in 2006, confirmed the news on Twitter. He wrote: “I can’t believe I have to write this, but my father lost his long and hard battle with cancer this morning.

Eddie and Wolfgang Van Halen on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2012

“He was the best father I could ask for. Every moment I have shared with him on and off stage has been a gift.

“My heart is broken and I don’t think I will ever fully recover from this loss.”

Eddie, who struggled with alcoholism, had struggled with various health problems. He was first treated for tongue cancer in 2000 and subsequent surgery removed about a third of his tongue.

He was declared cancer free in 2002. It was reported last year that Eddie had been privately battling throat cancer for five years.

Eddie and his brother Alex, born in Holland and raised in California, founded Van Halen in the early 1970s in Los Angeles. Michael Anthony joined on bass and David Lee Roth was on vocals. The hard rock band became a staple of the famous Sunset Strip before releasing their debut album. Van Halen I. in 1978.

The album soared to number 19 on the Billboard charts, becoming one of the most successful debuts of the decade.

Cementing his place in rock history, Van Halen followed up with another tour-de-force on his second album, Van Halen II.

We need your consent to upload this YouTube content.We use YouTube to manage additional content that may set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Review your data and accept it to load the content.Manage preferences

The group has released 12 studio albums and had more number one hits on the US rock charts than any other artist. Her classic hits include Skip, Running with the devil, I’m not talking about love, Hot for the teacher, Why can not this be love? and the guitar solo Eruption.

Eddie’s solo on Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit Beat it It is considered one of the best guitar solos of all time, which he did as a “favor” and was not paid. Eddie just ordered a case of beer and for Michael to “teach him to dance someday.”

We need your consent to upload this YouTube content.We use YouTube to manage additional content that may set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Review your data and accept it to load the content.Manage preferences

After selling 56 million albums in the United States and 80 million worldwide, Van Halen took his place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 2007.

In 2012, Eddie was voted number one in a Guitar world magazine readers poll for the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

In 2015, Rolling Stone The magazine ranked Eddie eighth on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Mike McCready of Pearl Jam wrote a tribute at the time, saying, “A lot of that is in your hands – the way you hold the pick between your thumb and middle finger, which opens things up for you to play with. fingers. I found out I played that way, I tried it myself, but it was too weird).

“But underneath that, Eddie has a soul. He’s like Hendrix: you can touch the things he’s written, but there’s an X factor that you can’t get.”

Eddie is credited with bringing the “finger tapping,” where a musician uses both hands on the guitar neck, to a wider audience, influencing generations of hard rock and heavy metal guitarists.

Van Halen was married twice. His first wife was actress Valerie Bertinelli. She is Wolfgang’s mother. They divorced in 2007. Van Halen married Janie Liszewski in 2009.

Paying tribute, Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath described Van Halen as “a true gentleman and a true genius.”

“Just when I thought 2020 couldn’t be worse, I heard that Eddie Van Halen passed away,” he tweeted.

“So shocking – One of the kindest and most down-to-earth men I have ever met and traveled with. A true gentleman and a true genius. RIP. So sad. Thoughts are with his brother Alex and his family.” .

Black Sabbath gave Van Halen one of their big chances in 1978, taking them on tour with them in Europe as a supporting act.

Kiss lead guitarist Tommy Thayer said he is “very sad to hear this.”

The Twitter account of the metal group Pantera tweeted that Van Halen was a “tremendous influence” on their music. It read: “RIP Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen was a tremendous influence on both Vinnie & Dime & Pantera. I hope they’re all rocking together now!”

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill sent his condolences to Wolfgang, adding: “But take comfort in knowing that you will be long remembered and live forever as one of Rock’s most extraordinary guitar virtuosos.”

Scott Ian of the heavy metal band Anthrax shared a black and white photo of Eddie on stage with the caption: “I remember the time I heard Eruption – 9th grade dining room in early 1978, our long hair crew kidnapped in our usual table in the corner – all seven of us huddled around my friend David Karibian’s little cassette player that was plugged in …

“David was smiling at us because he had already heard it and knew it was going to blow us away and then he hit play … 7 jaws hit the ground at the same time and life was suddenly a lot more fun.”

Artists and celebrities from around the entertainment world have taken to social media to pay tribute:



[ad_2]