Legend Eddie Van Halen remembered

Reaction to the death of guitar rock god Eddie Van Halen, who passed away Tuesday at age 65 after battling cancer.

“Heartbroken and speechless. My love to the family,” tweeted Sammy Hagar.

“Sad to hear Eddie Van Halen has passed away. A guitar innovator with a fierce spirit of musical and technical exploration. Prayers and thoughts with his family and friends,” Yusuf/Cat Stevens tweeted.

“Rest in peace guitar legend Eddie Van Halen. Broken heart We will miss you,” tweeted

Billy Idol.

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 20 bestselling artists of all time, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen at No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

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.

“My heart is broken. Eddie was not only a Guitar God, but a genuinely beautiful soul. Rest in peace, Eddie!,” Gene Simmons tweeted.

“I’m so grateful Wolfie and I were able to hold you in your last moments. I will see you in our next life,” Van Halen’s exwife Valerie Bertinelli wrote on Instagram.

“Crushed. So (expletive) crushed. RIP Eddie Van Halen. You changed our world. You were the Mozart of rock guitar. Travel safe rockstar,” tweeted Nikki Sixx.

“I’m just devastated to hear the news of the passing of my dear friend Eddie Van Halen. He fought a long and hard battle with his cancer right to the very end. Eddie was one of a very special kind of person, a really great friend. Rest In Peace my dear friend till we meet again,” Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi tweeted.

“Rest In Peace to a Eddie Van Halen, Rock God. Favorite riff: Eruption. What’s yours?,” tweeted Papa Roach.

AP PHOTO/TOM HOOD, FILE In this file photo, Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen performs in Phoenix. Van Halen, who had battled cancer, died Tuesday. He was 65.