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It’s a sad day for rock and roll and for the entire guitar-loving community, as news of Eddie Van Halen’s death arrived on Wednesday morning, October 7. The internet began to explode as the world began to wake up to the fact that another legend is gone too soon.
Born Edward Lodewijk Van Halen on January 26, 1955 in Amsterdam, Holland, Eddie was the driving force behind the band that also bore his name. Van Halen burst onto the scene in 1978 with a self-titled album and alongside his brother Alex Van Halen on drums, bassist Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth on vocals, they changed the course and sound of rock and roll in the late 70s. and in the ’80s. His ’78 debut featured iconic tracks “Ain’t Talking About Love” and “Running With The Devil”, but was Eddie’s solo track “Eruption,” an incendiary six-string instrumental that featured all the tricks and styles of modern rock. playing the guitar, including his mastery of the “two-handed tapping” or “finger tapping” technique that cemented his reputation as a guitar hero and has eventually influenced an entire generation of guitarists since.
Eddie’s innovative way of playing guitar became the standard of excellence as the instrument once again became the focal point of rock and even launched a whole sub-genre of music on the instrumental rock guitar that had its own legends and stars. Most of them acknowledge that Eddie Van Halen is a huge influence.
His impact on the guitar was even made a bit more pronounced when, in 1982, he recorded the guitar solo for “Beat It,” which became one of Michael Jackson’s signature songs from his 1983 album “Thriller.” Unknowingly, a teacher taught music fans around the world what a proper guitar solo should look like.
Some of Eddie’s most memorable moments on guitar were still ahead when Van Halen released his album “1984” which featured “Hot For Teacher” and “Panama”, the last track with his signature guitar tone which he called “brown. sound “. But that particular album will still be remembered for the song “Jump”, which not only had a good guitar solo that featured all of his techniques: playing loud harmonics, smooth legato performances and finger playing, but also his prodigious mastery of the synthesizer. keyboard that marked the characteristic riff of the track.
In 1986, a new Van Halen era began when singer Sammy Hagar replaced Roth. This era was highlighted by a string of number one album hits on the Billboard 200 for their “5150” albums which now featured songs with a lot of synth (as well as VH rock sound) like “Why Can’t This Be Love”. ” Dreams “And” Love Walks In “. Then came the later albums “OU812” (oh, you ate one too) and “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”, the latter bringing the hits “Poundcake” and the MTV classic “Right Now” that pushed the band once again to the world stage.
Eventually, that era was also closed with the bitter division with Hagar that unfolded in the media. But the band Van Halen was in had even recruited Gary Cherone of Extreme (of “More Than Words” fame) to headline “Van Halen III.” In the early years, meetings with his former singers saw a revitalized Van Halen, now with Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen (with actress Valerie Bertinelli) as part of the band replacing Michael Anthony.
But those tours were cut short when years of alcohol abuse and heavy smoking caught up with the guitarist. In 2000 he was diagnosed with tongue cancer, but he overcame it with surgery and therapy. However, for the next several years, Eddie battled throat cancer. Eddie Van Halen’s last show was in 2015 at the Hollywood Bowl.
The fellow guitar heroes paid their respects through their social media. His Grammy-winning friend Steve Lukather from TOTO wrote: “Sometimes there are no words … I will miss my brother for over 40 years, more than words … My sincerest condolences and hugs go to Wolf – (wife ) Janie and Alex and all the family. This one hurts a lot… I love you Ed… it always will. Xxxx “.
Meanwhile, Grammy-winning guitarist Eric Johnson was terse when he released, “Respect.”
Guitar player Steve Vai also wrote: “I feel profound sadness and overwhelming appreciation.” He underscored Eddie’s influence and impact when he added, “However, the appreciation and love for him is greater. Let’s take a minute and try to imagine our world if it never showed up. It is unthinkable. Thank you King Edward. You are deeply loved and we will miss you. “
In another post, Vai placed a photo of Eddie Van Halen’s trademark black and white stripes on the red Converse shoes and said, “Never to fill.”
Eddie Van Halen is survived by his song Wolfgang, his wife Janie and his brother Alex.
RIP Guitar Hero.
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