On Jan. 26, 1955, legendary guitarist, musician and songwriter Edward Lodewijk van Halen, known simply as Eddie Van Halen, was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He was best known for his band, Van Halen, which he co-founded with his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Mark Stone and singer David Lee Roth in 1972. After five decades of creating songs and guitar riffs that were one of a kind, Eddie Van Halen died from his long battle with cancer at the age of 65 on Oct. 6, 2020.
According to Rolling Stone magazine, Eddie Van Halen was a “legendary guitar innovator and virtuoso… establishing himself as one of the all-time great players in rock history.” In an interview with the magazine, Van Halen told them he didn’t know anything about scales or music theory — he simply played what he felt, something that has inspired a lot of individuals to learn to play guitar.
“He was a major impact on my playing. His style and writing were so alien, it literally was out of this world. He was a true legend from the start,” said Eric Neil, a guitarist who has played with South Florida rock bands Silver Spine and Leather and Lace.
Van Halen was known for his tapping guitar solo technique — where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion — which allowed him to play rapid arpeggios with both hands on the fretboard.
Van Halen’s guitar-playing inspiration sprouted from guitarists Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton.
In an interview with Guitar World, Van Halen said, “I’ve always said Eric Clapton was my main influence, but Jimmy Page was actually more the way I am, in a reckless-abandon kind of way… I think I got the idea of tapping watching Page do his “Heartbreaker” solo back in 1971. He was doing a pull-off to an open string and I thought, ‘Wait a minute, open string … pull off. I can do that, but what if I use my finger as the nut and move it around?’ I just kind of took it and ran with it.”
With their father being a jazz pianist, clarinetist and saxophonist, Van Halen and his brother took up music at a young age, beginning to play the piano at the age of 6. While his parents wanted the brothers to be classic pianists, they were more interested in rock music, which led to them starting their first band in elementary school called The Broken Combs.
According to an interview Van Halen did on their YouTube channel in 2012, Eddie Van Halen said that performing with The Broken Combs was what sparked his desire to become a professional musician.
At the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, held eight days after his death, Eddie Van Halen was honored as musicians he had worked with gave speeches to pay tribute to his musical career.
Eddie Van Halen will forever be known as one of the musicians who revolutionized guitar-playing. While he is no longer with us, he lives on through his music, which is still being listened to today.
