Today, the world lost a rock god. One of the most influential and iconic guitarists of all time, Eddie Van Halen, has passed away at the age of 65. Van Halen died from cancer.
Halen was the co-founder of the iconic rock group, Van Halen, which produced a long list of hits including “Panama,” “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Hot for Teacher,” and “Jump.” The Pasadena rock band was founded in 1972 with Van Halen’s brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Mark Stone, and singer David Lee Roth. It was Roth’s idea to call the band “Van Halen,” because the name had a mystery to it and could be anything. Nobody could put Van Halen and their new sound in a box.
The band initially started playing backyard parties and small gigs. Their early shows were the stuff of legends in Los Angeles, where you’d often hear stories from strangers about how epic those shows were. Although Eddie Van Halen was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, he’s considered by many a Pasadena rock star. Van Halen’s family moved there in 1962 when Van Halen was only seven years old. Around that time, the guitarist and lyricst was already musically inclined as his brother and he were learning the piano. Eddie could play Mozart and Beethoven long before he was a rock star.
Van Halen was a natural born musician. He couldn’t even read music, but he learned by listening and watching musicians closely. It didn’t take long for Van Halen to lose passion for the piano and pick up a guitar, though. The young rising artist would practice daily for hours, locked away in his room until he got it right.
Eddie and Alex’s first band ever was called The Broken Combs, which would play during lunchtime at elementary school. When Eddie Van Halen was in his very first band, he was only in the fourth grade. During this time was when the guitarist discovered what he wanted to do with his life. He achieved that vision for himself.
In 1972, that’s when the Van Halen brothers started their own rock band. In 1974, that’s when the band joined forces with frontman and co-lyricist David Lee Roth and donned the name Van Halen. The rock group became famous around Los Angeles, playing at the Sunset Strip club, Whisky a Go Go. A few years later, Van Halen and the band landed a contract at Warner Bros. record.
The group’s debut album was titled after the band. The remarkable album had “You Really Got Me,” “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love,” “Jamie’s Cryin,” “Feel Your Love Tonight,” and other tunes. It’s a great album with an iconic cover that, funnily enough, didn’t earn a whole lot of money for the band. Touring is where the money is at, and for a long time, Van Halen was famous for putting on some of the wildest and most exciting concerts of any rock band. The shows are legendary among rock fans.
It only took a couple of years for Van Halen to become one of the most famous rock bands around. The album 1984, for example, went five-times platinum with the hit single “Jump.” From 1978 until that 1984 album, the band was on fire and unstoppable. Unfortunately, creative differences often plagued the band as David Lee Roth and Van Halen often failed to see eye-to-eye. They had different tastes and personalities, so Roth left the band, singer Sammy Hagar joined the band, and Van Halen was never the same, for better or worse according to fans.
The band continued to play with Hagar and later on reunited with Roth, but over the last couple of years, Van Halen was always rightfully suspect of more reunion tours. Wisely, Van Halen wanted to leave the past behind and, as he put it, not be an old rock star in today’s world. Van Halen stuck to his guns and turned down massive paydays.
Van Halen’s career went beyond the band, though. Perhaps most famously, Van Halen played the killer guitar solo on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Van Halen collaborated with producer Quincy Jones, rearranged the song a bit, and delivered another iconic guitar solo. When David Lee Roth first heard it, despite having no idea Van Halen worked with Jackson, his gut knew it was Eddie. Eddie Van Halen’s playing was that iconic and a singular sound. Nobody could play like Eddie could. There’s a reason why Kurt Cobain once smashed a guitar during a show, wanting his performance to impress Van Halen, who was in the crowd. The world of rock has lost one of the greats today.
