Eddie Van Halen was no ordinary guitarist. He was an axeman who made other guitarists look, well, pretty ordinary.
The legendary Van Halen band leader passed away Tuesday, at the age of 65, having left an indelible imprint on modern rock music.
Erupting from the Los Angeles scene in the ‘70s, VH’s classic lineup featured Eddie on guitar and his brother Alex on drums, bass player Michael Anthony (later Wolfgang Van Halen), and the brighter-than-the-sun frontman David Lee Roth (later Sammy Hagar, then DLR again).
Van Halen would go on to become one of the biggest bands of their time, a Rock And Roll Hall of Fame-inducted stadium-filler with millions of fans around the globe.
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How big? Van Halen once scored a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Their $1.5 million payday from 1983’s Heavy Metal Day in San Bernadino was, at the time, the highest paid single appearance of a band.
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Eddie was always at the center of the action.
The late, Netherlands-born multi-instrumentalist wasn’t the fastest shredder on the planet, and he didn’t invent the finger-tapping style for which he was renowned (he once pointed to the late English guitarist Allan Holdsworth as “so damned good that I can’t cop anything. I can’t understand what he’s doing”).
But he was the full package. A pioneer with style, hits, triple-A technique, and respect from his peers, EVH was a giant in an era stacked with guitar heroes.
Check out some of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar wizardry below.
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“Cathedral”
Eddie could torch his guitar at will, but he had other means to melt your brain. Take “Cathedral” as one example. The instrumental from 1982’s Diver Down is 80 seconds of delay and volume control mastery. It sounds like nothing else from EVH’s repertoire.
“Spanish Fly”
Eddie could also punish an acoustic guitar like it was guilty of a crime. Need proof? Check out “Spanish Fly,” from Van Halen II. Think “Eruption” on nylon strings
“Hot For Teacher”
One of VH’s biggest hits is also one of Eddie’s virtuoso performances. Alex sets the scene with a double-kick workout, before EVH flies in and rips it apart with one of the sickest solos ever put to wax. And that’s just the opening 30 seconds. “Hot For Teacher” is blues on speed, with Eddie toggling effortlessly between lead and rhythm and hitting multiple solos.
“Runnin’ With the Devil”
Mention this song to a VH die-hard and their pupils go large. The first track from the band’s debut album is meaty and muscular and the ultimate launch pad for any career. “Runnin’ With the Devil” has multiple gears and EVH drives it like a Formula One pro.
“Eruption”
No list of guitar solos is complete without “Eruption.” At 100 seconds and free of lyrics, “Eruption” was never headed for rotation on radio. It was too hot for radio. EVH’s finger-tapping crescendo is the stuff of legend, and its impact on guitarists was like a bomb. You either heard it and wanted to be “the next Eddie Van Halen,” or you simply gave up.