Celebrity Death: Eddie Van Halen

[Zodiac]

heartbroken ...stunned ...can't believe it. just last night i was watching his awesome solo from the Live Without a Net concert and thought 'that's a living legend right there' ...and today he's gone.

i dare say, that no other guitar player has influenced so many others. i remember as a teen sitting in my bedroom trying to learn the tab to stuff like Panama, Drop Dead Legs, Eruption ...you name it, i tried to play it. the guy was a huge part of my life growing up ...and meant so much to so many others around the globe. hard to believe he's gone ...and at a fairly young age.

anyway ...this is a tough one for me. God love ya and RIP.

 

[MoreOrr]

Well that just sucks!

 

[spintheblackcircle]

 

[Jovavic]

On the Mount Rushmore of guitarists. 2020 is coming closer to 2016 in terms of meaningful pop culture deaths, IMO.

Oh, and f*** cancer

 

[Canes]

I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of Van Halen but as a guitar player I can say he was undoubtedly one of the most iconic guitar players to ever live. RIP EVH

 

[beowulf]

Saw him only once live and it was a great show to watch him play that axe. RIP

 

[mrmovies779]

Icon.Rest Well Eddie

 

[Langdon Alger]

i dare say, that no other guitar player has influenced so many others. i remember as a teen sitting in my bedroom trying to learn the tab to stuff like Panama, Drop Dead Legs, Eruption ...you name it, i tried to play it.

Did you learn those songs? I imagine his stuff was pretty complicated to play.

 

[angusyoung]

Tot Ziens

 

[kook10]

RIP. He was truly one of a kind.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Just another reality check about the vulnerability of life. A reminder that youth is passing and adulthood is borrowed time. Still, a phenomenal legend lives forever. His body of work is impeccable and nearly unparalleled.

Back in the early 90s, I had an opportunity to have a boys' night out with EVH. It went into the wee hours. It was in a hotel lobby and our paths had crossed. I just wanted to thank him for the music and was told to sit. About a half dozen of us traded stories and even barbs as guys will do. He wasn't drinking then much of which was a personal decision but his son was just born. He was so proud of that baby boy who later joined the band. I even teased him a little.

He told me the story of how he met his first wife. She came back stage in Louisiana as I recall and introduced herself. He told his father who then knew of the TV sitcom but chastised him for her age. He said "Dad, you are watching reruns that are 10 years old!"... or something to that affect. Needless to say, it was a humorous exchange.

A charming man, a great guitarist. Rest in peace man but your life is ongoing through others.

 

[Zodiac]

Did you learn those songs? I imagine his stuff was pretty complicated to play.

yeah, i would typically learn the main riff ...but sometimes i would learn the whole song.

some were complicated ...and some weren't as hard as you'd think. example ...i didn't think 'Eruption' was a hard as it was made out to be (not that i could play it perfect) ...and found 'Spanish Fly' to be quite a bit tougher.

but anyway ...he came up with some fantastic riffs ...beautiful stuff.

 

[ORRFForever]

Eddie Van Halen dead at 65

Eddie Van Halen, legendary rock guitarist, dead at 65

 

[zombie kopitar]

The man that made guitar center inhabitable. RIP

 

[TNT87]

I saw them about 25 years ago. Terrific show. Truly a great guitarist.

 

[ORRFForever]

As I said many times, I want to see an HBO 10 episode series on the history of the band Van Halen. Talk about s*** show. It will make every other band biopic look like a kindergarten class.

All the drugs, all the booze, all the HATE, all the venom and back stabbing. Narrated by Michael Anthony. It would be amazing.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Damnit

This one hurts

 

[the squared circle]

Every school book I had from around 84-91 was emblazoned with the Van Halen logo.

RIP Eddie.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Gutted.

RIP Eddie.

 

[kook10]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Did Eddie invent the finger tapping technique? Thought I heard that somewhere.

The first rock guitarist who used two-handed tapping (as far as I'm aware) is Steve Hackett from Genesis, around 1971. But there were relatively few people who copied that technieque.

Van Halen was the one who popularized it. (In fact, in the beginning, he sometimes played "Eruption" with his back to the audience so nobody could figure out how he got those sounds from a six string).

 

[member 51464]

Right Now is my favorite Van Halen song.

RIP Eddie.

 

[PanthersPens62]

Just awful. One of the great guitarists of all time. RIP Eddie.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]