Rock legend Eddie Van Halen dies at age 65

NEWYORK » Eddie Van Halen, the guitar virtuoso whose blinding speed, control and innovation propelled his band Van Halen into one of hard rock’s biggest groups, fueled the unmistakable fiery solo in Michael Jackson’s hit “Beat It” and became elevated to the status of rock god, has died. He was 65

A person close to van halen’s family confirmed the rocker died Tuesday due to cancer. The person was not authorized to publicly release further details.

With his distinct solos, Eddie Van Halen fueled the ultimate California party band and helped knock disco off the charts starting in the late 1970s with his band’s self-titled debut album and then with the blockbuster record “1984,” which contains the classics “Jump,” “Panama” and “hot for Teacher.”

Van Halen is among the top 20best-selling artists of all time, and the band was inducted into the Rock and

Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Vanhalen at No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

Eddie Van Halen was something of a musical contradiction. He was an autodidact who could play almost any instrument, but he couldn’t read music. He was a classically trained pianist who also created some of the most distinctive guitar riffs in rock history. He was a dutch immigrant who was considered one of the greatest American guitarists of his generation.

“You changed our world. You were the mozart of rock guitar. Travel safe rockstar,” Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx said on Twitter.

The members of Van Halen — the two Van Halen brothers, Eddie and Alex; vocalist david Leeroth; and bassist Michael Anthony — formed in 1974 in Pasadena, California. They were members of rival high school bands and then attended Pasadena City College together. They combined to form the band Mammoth, but then changed to Van Halen.

GREG ALLEN — INVISION/AP, FILE David Lee Roth, left, and Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen perform in 2015inwantagh, N.Y. Van Halen, who had battled cancer, died Tuesday. He was 65.