Being of German heritage, I always thought it was “something” that a singer named his son, “WOLFGANG,” and I, for a while, thought his 1st wife (Valerie Bertinelli, Barbara of One Day at a Time fame from 1975-1984) was the 2nd cutest and most likable girl in the world. (She was beaten out by my wife!)
Being a music of various types lover, I really enjoyed his guitar playing on his iconic instrument, which he named “Frankenstein,” after it was pieced together from various parts of other guitars. I also always liked the fact that he appeared to love what he was doing, as he grinned contagiously and continuously while he performed, and supposedly while he practiced.
Many people said that Eddie and Jimi (Hendrix), and maybe Eric (Clapton) and Jimmy (Page), were the “gods” (as in iconic leaders) of rock guitar playing and experimentalism. Well-known songs include “Jump,” “Hot for Teacher,” and “Panama.”
The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, and Eddie Van Halen has nearly always been ranked in the all-time TOP TEN of Guitarists!
Eddie Van Halen died recently of throat cancer, which has been attributed to his smoking, even though he often blamed it upon his habit of holding a metal guitar pick in his mouth while playing. (He, much earlier in his career, had lost a portion of his tongue to oral cancer.)
He was actually named Edward Lodewijk Van Halen at his birth in 1955, and “the family” immigrated to California from Amsterdam in the early ‘60s. Eddie began as a drummer, and younger brother, Alex, was the guitarist; however, when Eddie learned that his younger brother was sneaking in and practicing on “older brother’s” drum set, in frustration, he told him, “O. K., you play the drums, and I will play the guitar!”
Their 1st Group in 1964 was called THE BROKEN COMBS. Then, they changed the group’s name to the “Trojan Rubber Company.” In 1972, they became Genesis, with Eddie as the Lead Vocalist and Guitarist, brother Alex on drums, and Mark Stone on bass.
Eddie was known for his “blinding speed and control/innovations along the FRETBOARD.” He was often imitated but seldom (if ever) equaled. One follower of his career stated that “Van Halen’s sound was thunderous, bright, hammering, and blazing and was the product of a technique known as two-hand tapping, as he hammered on the guitar’s neck and leaned on his ‘whammy bar.’”
In the late 1970s, the band, “Van Halen,” was often at the top of the music charts and had an ultimate BLOCKBUSTER album—1984.
An interesting early detail is that Gene Simmons of the Group, KISS, discovered the young Van Halens and their band in the mid-1970s and signed them to a contract—but his “management group” did not agree with his assessment of them, so they were released from the contract they signed and later went with WARNER BROTHERS!
Another interesting detail, though not necessarily a good attribute for young performers to emulate, is that Eddie says he did not drink or use drugs to party; however, he admits that they were “private” to him and things he used to stay awake and change his inhibitions while he was “working.”
He also stated that he had stayed “SOBER” since 2008!
The Band went through changes of members and somewhat in direction (Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth eras) several times, and from 1999-2003, not much, if anything, was heard from them!
Then came a “somewhat renewal” of past eras from 2003-2008.
Next, from 2009-2014, there were changes as Eddie (and the group) aged and adapted, and Eddie found a new wife.
In 2015, a new extended tour was announced to include David Lee Roth, and in 2019 a “box set” of singles was released, but that same year in September, Roth expressed concern for the continuation of the GROUP.
And now, that concern has proved to be a foretelling. A LEGEND IS STILL HERE, but it is now just that, A LEGEND, and not a life. A big part of music history will be long missed! Basic Members of the BAND: Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, Wolfgang Van Halen, Gary Cherone.
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