Eddie Van Halen Dead at 65

Wow, Eddie Van Halen died this morning.
He was only 65, but his decade-long battle with throat cancer had spread to other organs, according to his doctors.

He was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime guitar player & musician who completely changed the course of rock guitar, and of rock and pop music in general.   He will be missed but his influence will live on.   

If anyone has any EVH memories, tidbits, thoughts, experiences, please feel free to post. 
I will try to circle back with some of my own later this week.

RIP Eddie Van Halen
I saw Van Halen in concert with Sammy Hagar around the time of 5150 or OU812 in New Jersey....but it was when he broke his hip. He was truly an inspiration to watch...even though he couldn’t jump around on stage, I give him respect for playing for 2 hours standing on a broken hip. Truly awesome to watch him fly on the fretboard.

One of those who changed how people viewed guitar playing. You tried to learn guitar because of him then quit because of him.

Black Rider wrote:One of those who changed how people viewed guitar playing. You tried to learn guitar because of him then quit because of him.

Yep, that's why my teenager attempt at a heavy metal band turned into a punk band. 

For me he was the whole package. Great riffs, ultra cool solos and a cheeky grin.

Biggest loss in Hard Rock since Lemmy.

Eddie was the Guitar King!  He has inspired thousands of guitarists to play and many to excel in their craft.  He did it first and many did it after him, but never sounded like him.  Van Halen just had a unique sound that no one ever quite copied.

We have lost a great talent.  You will be missed, Eddie!!!

I would recommend reading these thoughts from Dweezil. So well conveyed.

https://www.dweezilzappa.com/posts/1985127-edward-van-halen

No Bozos! 

RIP Shreddie Eddie.

A few thoughts and memories for anyone who cares to read them:

1. I remember when the first VH album came out in 1978.  The hotshot guitarist in our high school told me about it excitedly in homeroom.  I didn't really pay any attention though.

2.  Cut to August of that same year.   I go to see Black Sabbath at Madison Square Garden - Van Halen was the opening group.  I could tell that the guitarist was especially gifted.  But VH were sloppy, drunk and unprofessional, and didn't make a good impression on me overall.

3. In a new high school...I'm in a band as 2nd guitar / bass.  Our main guitarist starts showing me Van Halen songs that he figured out by ear.  I'm intrigued; up close the riffs sound very cool.

4.  At the new high school, I join the football team.  Our quarterback lends me his Van Halen (1st) album.  Finally listening to it all at once, I'm blown away.  By then, VH II had come out.  I buy it.  It's a bit different but basically on par with the debut.

5.  In college, the campus rock guitar hotshot teaches me a bunch of VH riffs and a few full songs.  I'm thrilled to be able to play these ultra-cool riffs & songs, even if I can't play the solos.

6. Although I'm more a blues / rock guitar player (and unfortunately not that good), EVH's fluid, go-for-broke style is a big influence.  Along with Richie Blackmore, Mick Ralphs and Angus Young.

7.  Every guy who had a crush on  Valerie Bertinelli from "One Day At A Time" is jealous when Eddie marries her in 1981.  But...he's EVH so we totally get it.

8. New VH albums come out and I buy them asap, at least through 5150.   Eventually see VH again in concert, in 1998 with Gary Cherone.  They are tight, professional, and a big improvement from 1978 - even without DLR.

9.  Eventually move on to other super-shredders who are even faster and more outrageous than EVH, until I get bored of that.  Still retained a soft spot for EVH, who started that whole trend.  Plus he wrote great riffs and songs.  He knew it was about the song, not just the shred.

That was THE thing about Eddie's music.  He did a lot of shredding, but the song came before the solo.  It had to be right and it had to be good.  Too many shredders seem to think that the solo should be perfect and then the song added later, and it shows in their writing and performance.

It has been announced that Wolfie and Alex will go through the daunting task of going through the thousands of hours of recordings Eddie kept stored in his studio.  There are pieces of songs and full songs he had done, and they want to get those out to the fans.  I am hoping that they are able to do some quality albums from those vaults.  I would like to see them release albums with both David, Sammy, and Gary.  That would be a beautiful way to summarize Eddie's career and give every era fan something special.

I usually don’t mourn strangers, even musicians whom I have allowed into my conscious and subconscious mind with countless listens to their art.   Some of my favorite diseased players include Randy, Stevie, and Fast Eddie Clark.  I never shed a tear or gave their end a second thought.

But this one felt different.  

Being aware Eddie was a lifetime smoker and cancer patient did nothing to soften my shock and sadness.   It didn’t help to read Wolfie’s Tweet.  I lost it.  

It felt like music died.