Eddie Van Halen
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Even in their days as a local SoCal band, before their classic 1978 debut album, Van Halen were a fully formed heavy-metal party machine — and the band’s biggest star and musical engine was Eddie Van Halen. A self-taught virtuoso, he ushered in a new era for the guitar with “Eruption,” an instrumental experiment that producer Ted Templeman managed to capture on tape, showcasing the musician’s dive-bombing low notes and laser-beam highs. Eddie made it all look and sound effortless, bounding across stages with a guileless grin. “I do whatever I want,” he told Guitar Player in 1978. “Everything is pretty spontaneous.”
Van Halen died of throat cancer on October 6th, just as this issue was going to press; Rolling Stone is celebrating the guitarist’s life and legacy with a special digital cover online. He was born Edward Lodewijk Van Halen in Amsterdam on January 26th, 1955, a year and half after his older brother, Alex. Their father, Jan, was a gifted musician who played clarinet and saxophone and was a member of the Dutch air force band. The family immigrated to the U.S. when Eddie was seven, settling in Pasadena, California. Initially, Eddie was a drummer and Alex played guitar. At one point, frustrated that he couldn’t nail the Surfaris’ “Wipe Out” on the drums, Eddie swapped instruments with Alex, and the change stuck.
After David Lee Roth joined on vocals, Van Halen — which also featured Michael Anthony on bass — became one of the most popular groups on the L.A. rock circuit, playing backyard parties, strip clubs, and whatever other venues they could find. Their repertoire largely consisted of covers, but they slowly began working in original tunes like “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Somebody Get Me a Doctor.”
Eddie wrote most of the music for those songs; unlike most of the virtuosos he influenced, he was a gifted, versatile, pop-savvy songwriter. He composed hit after hit — “Dance the Night Away,” “Panama,” “Jump,” “Right Now” — each with its own distinct sound, but bearing his unique fingerprints. His talents helped Van Halen become one of the vanishingly few bands to thrive in the wake of losing their original lead singer; after the departure of Roth, they gained even more commercial success with former Montrose frontman Sammy Hagar. “I’m kind of devastated,” said Hagar, who was rehearsing for a small beach concert with Anthony the week of their bandmate’s death. “A Van Halen song never felt so hard to sing.”
“Lots of guys play fast, but with no melody or heart or soul — Eddie’s solos had all that,” says Kiss’ Gene Simmons, an early champion of the band. “You think you’re pretty good, and you’re famous and filling arenas, but when you were sitting in front of Eddie, you were in the presence of greatness.”
Eddie battled addiction issues, first getting sober in 2008, and faced a series of health problems, including a diagnosis of tongue cancer in 2000. But he remained productive, reuniting with Roth for one more album and a series of tours, and bringing his son, Wolfgang, into the band as a bass player when he was still in high school. “I feel like it’s just the beginning,” Eddie told Rolling Stone in 2008. “It’s a good life, man.”
KORY GROW