Another Musical Legend Lost: Van Halen’s Guitar Work, Skill Laid Down a Sound That Changed Us Forever

By Jeffrey H. Estepp

He originally wanted to play drums but his brother, Alex, was better so Eddie reluctantly picked up the guitar.

Some might have thought it helpful if he knew how to read music but by the time Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen came into the studio in early 1982 at Quincy Jones’ request, it clearly didn’t matter.

Eddie listened to the track once in the control room, and ten minutes later says ‘I’m ready,’ and in one track, records the guitar solo on the record that millions around the world came to know on Michael Jackson’s, “Beat It” (Thriller, 1982). Turned out to be one of the greatest selling albums of all time.

But I’d ‘discovered’ Eddie long before that and so did millions of other kids.

The year was 1978 and I was sharing a bedroom with my older brother, Jim. Jim had turned this music loving young kid on to a lot of great music genres including, the jazz pop of Steely Dan, the art rock of David Bowie, and the R&B greatness that is Earth Wind & Fire, to name a few.

However, the sound that was about to emanate from the end of the hall from my 16-year-old sister Karen’s room would change my musical life forever. The first thing I heard was an air raid horn coming through the speakers, then a booming bass that was thumping in this syncopated time, followed by what I could only describe as an eerie shrieking chorus of strings. The next thing I heard was pure magic, the opening guitar riff to “Runnin’ with the Devil” by the band Van Halen.

The guitar sound was like nothing I had ever heard before. The tone and musicianship was on another level. Even my young inexperienced ears knew what I was hearing was unique and special. I had to know who this was and how on earth he was doing what he was doing. The man it turns out was none other than guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen. His signature finger taping guitar playing along with the speed and cleanness in which he played was mesmerizing. From that day forward, I knew I wanted to be a rock star and, more importantly, play guitar like Eddie Van Halen. I have spent the past 40 plus years failing miserably. The reason; because no one in the world can play guitar like King Edward, period!

This immigrant from Holland who moved to the US as a 7-year-old, along with his drumming brother amassed a career that could only be described as one of legend. Van Halen, originally formed in California in the mid 70’s with band members Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, bassist Michael Anthony and singer David Lee Roth. The band was discovered by Kiss Founder Gene Simmons at the Starwood club in 1976.

Getting The Band Back Together: David Lee Roth (L) and Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen perform onstage at Jones Beach (2015).

A self-taught prodigy, Eddie’s biggest contribution is his influence on a generation of young musicians. He was a complete monster, a total badass with the axe but he killed you with that wry smile and the twinkle in his eye while he did it. He had you thinking that he was laughing it off. ‘I’m just messin’ around, nothing too serious,’ --- all while he was shredding that thing so hard and sweetly, your ears pinned back. He always tried to improve his guitar tone to make it sound differently than others. Eddie built his famous red and black striped guitar himself and he called it Frankenstein. He truly inspired me along with countless others to pick up a guitar and explore and play what you felt inside. He made us feel as if nothing was out of bounds as far as technique and creativity were concerned.

Van Halen’s journey led them to complete 12 studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums and 56 singles. During the 1980s, Van Halen had more Billboard hot 100 its than any other hard rock or heavy metal band, according to Wikipedia. They rocked their way to selling over 75 million albums before being inducted to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. On Rolling Stone’s 2015 list of greatest guitar players ever, Eddie Van Halen easily slid in at number 8.

Unfortunately, Eddie lost his long battle with throat cancer on Oct. 7 and left us way too early at the age of 65.

Says The Who’s Pete Townsend: "It's completely tragic that we have lost him. He was not just an innovative and stylish player with great taste, he was also a laidback virtuoso showman who just blew us all away every time. Every shredder today has lost their Master Teacher and Guide. As he got older he became more generous and amusing and self-effacing about his enormous gifts. He shared so many tricks through guitar workshops, online and on TV shows. Immense talent. The Great American Guitar Player. I was hoping he might be President one day."

His life, not near long enough, created an indelible mark in music history, and, even more so, to this middle-aged man and the tens of thousands more that were inspired by him, all because of a sound coming from down the hall that all of us can still hear today: Simply tune into the 120 seconds of pure euphoria that is the guitar instrumental on “Eruption.” Pure euphoria, summing up pure Eddie Van Halen.