Eddie Van Halen Has Died

[ZiprHead]

Eddie Van Halen Dies at 65

Eddie Van Halen, whose innovative and explosive guitar playing kept the hard rock band that bore his family name cemented to the top of the album charts for two decades, died on Tuesday morning after a long battle with cancer. He was 65.

Van Halen’s son Wolf announced the news. “He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss,” Wolf Van Halen tweeted.

 

[WAB]

Damn. I'll never forget the excitement among us fans when Van Halen hit it. Eddie was brilliant.

 

[ronburgundy]

They were my first favorite band when I first really got into music at age 11. I had a used 8 track of Women and Children first that I played until it broke. Saw them in 1984 just before Roth left. In my freshman year I wore a gold VH necklace and tight black "zipper pants" with bandannas tied on the legs. I was ridiculous.

15 years later, my new girlfriend and now wife are riding in the car. She was a new professor in the same department where I was a grad student, though we were the same age (I took 5 years off after high school). Suddenly "Hot for Teacher" comes on the radio and we start cracking up.

 

[Ford]

I remember hearing "Eruption" for the first time on the radio when it came out. Actually, I did more than listen. I stared at the radio in disbelief. Of course I became an instant fan (back then the rock radio stations still played entire albums) and like a lot of other kids I wanted to learn to play guitar right then and there.

Unlike a lot of people, I liked it when Sammy Hagar joined the band. I was a fan of his, and the first time I heard 5150 it sealed the deal.

Then in 1993 I got something the kid who heard that first record on the radio would have never believed: backstage passes.

I got to hang out in Sammy's courtesy suite, mingled a bit with him and Mike, and got to give a hi-five to Eddie. He was standoffish (I read later that he really didn't like meet and greets), but still...I got to meet Van Halen.

RIP

 

[ronburgundy]

My brother saw them in '78 open for Black Sabbath, and had told me "Most of the audience hadn't heard Halen before, but they booed Sabbath b/c they wanted more Halen." Ozzy confirmed this in an interview where he said that part of the '79 breakup of orignal Sabbath was b/c "Van Halen blew us off the stage every night of the tour." Ozzy sought out a more ripping energetic guitarist like Eddie and found Randy Rhodes from the early version of Quiet Riot. I much prefer Sabbath to Ozzy solo with Rhodes, but Eddie definitely changed the nature of rock guitar.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I’ve never owned a Van Halen album. When I was young Eddie Van Halen was managing to sync the syn with hard rock. Also liked them, but never got an album.

Lost two of the greatest rock musicians of our time to cancer this year, Peart and Van Halen.

 

[Learner]

Just saw the thread and just found out! Sad news indeed.

I remember first hearing Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'. I thought Van Halen's solo was a syntehesizer, when he did the tapping bit. Surely that can't be a guitar, I thought. I think he just walked in the studio and did one take IIRC. A great guitarist!

 

[ZiprHead]

I’ve never owned a Van Halen album. When I was young Eddie Van Halen was managing to sync the syn with hard rock. Also liked them, but never got an album.

Lost two of the greatest rock musicians of our time to cancer this year, Peart and Van Halen.

Never really needed to buy an album. just turn on the radio and a VH song would be on within ten minutes.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I’ve never owned a Van Halen album. When I was young Eddie Van Halen was managing to sync the syn with hard rock. Also liked them, but never got an album.

Lost two of the greatest rock musicians of our time to cancer this year, Peart and Van Halen.

Never really needed to buy an album. just turn on the radio and a VH song would be on within ten minutes.

Yeah, and maybe that is why I don't have an album and got sick of them. Cleveland area plays way too much Van Halen... and the same Van Halen, kind of like AC DC though I suspect Van Halen has better deeper cuts.

My tastes also out grew the sound. Eddie Van Halen is definitely a pioneer where pioneering wasn't exactly easy because Hendrix already happened and Black Sabbath had been around for a while.

 

[Testy Calibrate]

Just saw the thread and just found out! Sad news indeed.

I remember first hearing Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'. I thought Van Halen's solo was a syntehesizer, when he did the tapping bit. Surely that can't be a guitar, I thought. I think he just walked in the studio and did one take IIRC. A great guitarist!

Actually, he rewrote the song while Jackson went to another studio across the hall. Kind of an interesting story. Worth googling anyway

 

[Hawkingfan]

He's actually very lucky he lived as long as he did considering his lifestyle. He was a heavy drug abuser for several decades and a chain smoker as well for just as long. I recall reading in Sammy Hagar's autobiography that Eddie and Alex would have multiple ashtrays in every room with multiple cigarettes in them and smoke each one, one after the other. Sammy would rarely be in the same room with them to try and preserve his voice. Sounds as bad as Frank Zappa's habit, but Frank died much younger at 52. Eddie was very lucky actually.

 

[thebeave]

He's actually very lucky he lived as long as he did considering his lifestyle. He was a heavy drug abuser for several decades and a chain smoker as well for just as long. I recall reading in Sammy Hagar's autobiography that Eddie and Alex would have multiple ashtrays in every room with multiple cigarettes in them and smoke each one, one after the other. Sammy would rarely be in the same room with them to try and preserve his voice. Sounds as bad as Frank Zappa's habit, but Frank died much younger at 52. Eddie was very lucky actually.

Yep. And he says the cancer was caused by him putting a metal (nickel) guitar pick in his mouth while he was playing. Yeah...sure Eddie. Its got nothing to do with the cigs.

 

[ZiprHead]