Last week, on 10/06/2020, rock & roll legendary guitar player Eddie Van Halen passed away due to throat cancer. He was 65 years old.
Eddie Van Halen
Because his band's name is also his last name (Van Halen), he will be referred to as Eddie for the rest of this past.
Eddie & his brother Alex were born in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and an Indonesian mother. The family immigrated to California when the brothers were still children.
(note: it would be interesting how many Trump supporters who yell "build the wall" and other racist chants are fans of Van Halen's music without knowing about Eddie's mother)
Eddie & Alex inherited their interest in playing musical instruments from his father, who played clarinet, saxophone & drums. The brothers experimented with various instruments, with Alex settling on the drums and Eddie with the guitar. Eddie occasionally played piano & synthesizers for the band too!
Eddie & Alex recruited Micheal Anthony for bass and David Lee Roth as lead singer for the band Van Halen!
Starting in the late '70s into the early '90s, Van Halen made hit record after hit record playing some loud, hard rock with a party vibe.
Eddie was the real star of the band with his legendary guitar solos. He can do many things with the guitar that many try to imitate but very few could come close.
When Micheal Jackson, who usually did soul/R&B songs, wanted to make a hard rock track, he recruited Eddie to play the guitar solo. That track was "Beat It", a mega-hit that transcended genres. Eddie actually did his part of the song for free, though he could've made millions from royalties.
Eddie's music was also sampled by hip-hop artists like 2 Live Crew.
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In 1985, David Lee Roth left the band to pursue a solo career. Some people predicted that would be the end of the band's popularity. However, the band found a new lead singer Sammy Hagar, who had some hits as both a solo artist & as a singer from Montrose.
The band had a different vibe with Hagar. David Lee Roth was more of a pop/showtunes kind of guy. Sammy Hagar had a more serious personality and the band went in a heavier direction.
In my opinion, the band's best work was with Hagar for the 1991's album "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" with featured the hits "Poundcake", "Right Now", "Top of the World" and my favorite "Runaround".
In 1996, Hagar left the band. Van Halen recruited Gary Cherone who was the lead singer for Extreme, a hair metal band that gained the most popularity for the very non-extreme acoustic ballad "More than Words". However, at that point, the music world has changed with more fans embracing alternative rock and leaving the 80's hard rock behind. The one album featuring Cherone didn't sell so well.
Since then Van Halen did reunion tours with David Lee Roth and/or Sammy Hagar. While the ticket sales did well, the band's relations with the singers didn't always go so well. The camaraderie wasn't there, it was just "go on stage and get it over with".
Meanwhile. Eddie's health was declining for years. He had hip replacement surgery and had cancer on his tongue and throat. It was believed that decades of drug use, drinking, and smoking contributed to his cancers.
Eddie did reconcile with the band members before his death.
Though Eddie Van Halen has passed way, his music will live on for generations.
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Great articles on Eddie Van Halen
Jim Farber, “Eddie van Halen, Virtuoso of the Rock Guitar, Dies at 65,” New York Times, October 7, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/arts/music/eddie-van-halen-dead.html
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Harrison Smith, “Eddie van Halen, Guitar Virtuoso with a Shimmering Sound, Dies at 65,” Washington Post, October 6, 2020,
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On Eddie & Alex Van Halen dealing with racism as biracial kids
Kimmy Yam, “Eddie van Halen Endured a 'horrifying Racist environment' Before Becoming a Rock Legend,” Yahoo, October 9, 2020,
https://www.yahoo.com/news/eddie-van-halen-endured-horrifying-132736945.html
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Popular Mechanics republished a 2015 article by Eddie Van Halen all the ways he adjusted his guitars and amps to make new sounds for his music
Eddie Van Halen, “How the Late Rock God Eddie Van Halen Hacked His Guitar,” Popular Mechanics, October 6, 2020, https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a15615/how-eddie-van-halen-hacks-a-guitar/.
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Tributes from other musicians
Metallica's Kirk Hammet
Ben Sisario, “Metallica’s Kirk Hammett: Eddie van Halen ‘blew Open Everyone’s Minds’,” New York Times, October 7, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/07/arts/music/eddie-van-halen-metallica-kirk-hammett.html.
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Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine, Prophets of Rage, Audioslave)
Tom Morello, “Tom Morello: Eddie van Halen Was ‘our Generation’s Mozart’ ,” Rolling Stone, October 6, 2020, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tom-morello-eddie-van-halen-tribute-1071947/.
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from other Van Halen's bandmates
Jem Aswad, “Alex van Halen Posts Touching Tribute to His Brother, Eddie,” Variety, October 8, 2020, https://variety.com/2020/music/news/alex-van-halen-eddie-tribute-1234797355/.
Liz Calvario, “Sammy Hagar Shares He Reconnected with Eddie van Halen Before His Death,” ET Online, October 8, 2020, https://www.etonline.com/sammy-hagar-shares-he-reconnected-with-eddie-van-halen-before-his-death-154464.
Kory Grow, “Gary Cherone Remembers Eddie van Halen: ‘he Was Truly One with the Guitar,” Rolling Stone, October 7, 2020, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/gary-cherone-eddie-van-halen-interview-1072436/.
