A tribute to Eddie Van Halen

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen (January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the principal songwriter and guitarist of the American rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded in 1972. Alongside his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Mark Stone and singer David Lee Roth, they built an enviable career.

He's considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time in the history of rock. He was known for popularizing solo guitar technique, enabling rapid two-handed arpeggios on the fretboard.

A flying Dutch man

He was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 1962, the Van Halen family moved from the Netherlands to the United States and settled in Pasadena, California. Eddie and his older brother, Alex Van Halen, became naturalized US citizens.

The brothers learned to play piano as children, starting at age six. [7] [8] They moved from Pasadena to San Pedro to study with an elderly piano teacher, Stasys Kalvaitis.

Van Halen was never taught to read music; instead, he'd watch recitals of Bach or Mozart and improvise. His parents wanted the boys to become classical pianists, but Van Halen made rock music instead. As a result, when Alex started playing guitar, Eddie bought himself a drum kit. However, after hearing Alex's rendition of the Surfaris' drum solo on "Wipe Out", he handed the drums over to Alex and started learning how to play electric guitar. 

The band's journey with Van Halen

A tribute to Eddie Van Halen can't skip over the guitarist's band's journey.

1974: Alex Van Halen / Eddie Van Halen / Mark Stone / David Lee Roth

Before Van Halen, there was Mammoth. Mostly a covers-oriented outfit, it began transforming into the Van Halen we all know and love after David Lee Roth joined. Bassist Mark Stone, a holdover from the Mammoth days, didn't last long in the new incarnation and has kept a pretty low profile ever since leaving the band.

1974-85: Alex Van Halen / Eddie Van Halen / David Lee Roth / Michael Anthony

Once Michael Anthony stepped into Stone's spot on bass, the band went up a gear. Starting with their 1978 self-titled debut, Van Halen scored steady success on the pop and rock charts. They went on to churn out a string of gold and platinum albums between '78 and '84. By 1985, the band's commercial profile was riding high. But the long-simmering internal tensions started to boil over. Frontman David Lee Roth then departed to pursue a promising solo career, leaving the band with the uncertain task of finding a new singer who could fill his flashy shoes.

1985-96: Alex Van Halen / Eddie Van Halen / Michael Anthony / Sammy Hagar

Replacing Roth proved a tough job for Van Halen. Only after months of weighing various possibilities did a chance meeting in a car mechanic's garage lead Eddie to offer the spot to former Montrose frontman Sammy Hagar. Any doubts about the commercial viability of the new lineup evaporated in 1986, when his first LP with the band, "5150", became their first to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts. For the next decade, Hagar's version of the band repeated the success of "5150" with a string of albums, including 1988's "OU812" and 1991's "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge".

1996: Alex Van Halen / Eddie Van Halen / Michael Anthony / David Lee Roth

In 1996, after a decade full of platinum records fronting one of the biggest rock bands on the planet, Hagar - depending on who you ask - either quit or was fired from Van Halen. But it opened the door for an extremely brief (though heavily-publicized) reunion with Roth. Unfortunately for fans who'd long hoped to see Van Halen's original singer back, his second stint with the band only produced a couple of new songs on 1996's "Best of Volume I". After a disastrous appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, Roth was once again out.

1997-99: Alex Van Halen / Eddie Van Halen / Michael Anthony / Gary Cherone

Our tribute to Eddie Van Halen continues as he was forced to find yet another new singer. Van Halen repeated what he'd done with Hagar: former Extreme singer Gary Cherone became the new member. While many fans had only heard the softer side of Extreme (namely, their acoustic ballad hit "More Than Words"), Cherone proved more than capable of tearing into the heavy stuff, as shown on "Without You". That track was the leadoff single from his only album with the band, 1998's "Van Halen III". Unfortunately, shifting trends and a frustrating lack of radio-ready material conspired to make "VHIII" a relative flop, and after a disappointing tour, this lineup only managed to record a few demos for a follow-up that never happened before parting ways.

2004: Alex Van Halen / Eddie Van Halen / Michael Anthony / Sammy Hagar

Given the hostility that followed Hagar's departure from Van Halen, few would have guessed he'd ever return to the lineup. Yet that's exactly what happened in 2004, when the band reunited with their second singer for a couple of new songs and a tour. The good vibes didn't last long, though. The '04 tour was marred by sloppy performances and bad behaviour, and after the final show. The low point came when Eddie smashed his guitar onstage. The band went on a long hiatus after that.

2007-Present: Alex Van Halen / Eddie Van Halen / Wolfgang Van Halen / David Lee Roth

Having enjoyed guitar-god status through the '70s, '80s and '90s, Eddie Van Halen withdrew from the spotlight. As the years since "Van Halen III" dragged on, fans grew impatient for an album of new material. Rumours ran wild. None more persistent than the one saying David Lee Roth had rejoined the band. Finally, in the fall of 2007, the reunion became reality. Minus Anthony, who'd been pushed out in favour of Eddie's son, Wolfgang. The band's 2007 tour didn't immediately lead to new music. Eventually, though, Van Halen returned to the studio with Roth. They released their twelfth studio LP, "A Different Kind of Truth", in February 2012.

2008-Present: Chickenfoot: Sammy Hagar / Michael Anthony / Joe Satriani / Chad Smith

Hagar and Anthony responded to being pushed out by forming a new supergroup, Chickenfoot. Together with guitarist Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, they released studio albums in 2009 and 2011. Although the band hasn't officially split, their respective schedules have kept them from working together since.

2014-Present: Sammy Hagar & the Circle: Sammy Hagar / Michael Anthony / Jason Bonham / Vic Johnson

With Chickenfoot on hiatus, Hagar and Anthony kept working together. They picked Vic Johnson, who'd been Hagar's guitarist in the Waboritas, and Jason Bonham. Their first year of touring resulted in a live album, 2015's "At Your Service", and their first studio effort, "The Space Between", arrived in 2019.

Legacy

At the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, Eddie Van Halen was honoured by many former musicians he'd worked with. Musicians like Jack White of The White Stripes, G. E. Smith, and Charlie Benante of Anthrax, along with Dierks Bentley, gave speeches paying tribute to his career. Wolfgang Van Halen also shared several personal photos of himself and his father.

On October 10, 2020, Saturday Night Live paid tribute by airing a clip of him performing with G. E. Smith from a February 1987 episode hosted by Valerie Bertinelli.

In 2020, the Pasadena Library, located in Pasadena, California, offered up various archives and documents related to Eddie Van Halen. The collection included various albums, along with photographs by Neil Zlozower, and many CDs. The library also uploaded Van Halen's albums to Hoopla.

Opinions among the world's guitarists differ. Everyone has their own take, and no tribute to Eddie Van Halen could ever cover his whole life. There's no disputing his talent, though. The reality is that the new techniques he brought to the game changed the map of the instrument.