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Eddie Van Halen, legendary rock guitarist, dead at 65
I was a huge fan of his guitar playing. For those that don't know, his song 'Eruption' from Van Halen's first album was the start of a new style of guitar playing. You can read after numerous guitarists how they were blown away and couldn't figure out how he was doing what he did with the guitar. It's common now, but it wasn't then. He started that new style of playing.
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One of rock 'n' roll's singular and most gifted guitarists, Eddie Van Halen, has died. He was 65.
Van Halen's son, Wolf, confirmed the news on Tuesday.
"I can't believe I'm having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning," he wrote on Twitter.
"He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I've shared with him on stage and off stage was a gift," Wolf continued. "My heart is broken and I don't think I'll ever fully recover from this loss."
"I love you so much, Pop," he concluded.
Eddie Van Halen's ex-wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli, shared their son's message on her own account along with breaking heart emojis. The pair was married for 20 years.
According to TMZ, citing sources, Van Halen died at a Santa Monica hospital on Tuesday. Wolf, his brother Alex, and his wife, Janie, were by his side.
Van Halen told Billboard magazine in 2015 that he had one-third of his tongue removed due to cancer that had also spread to his esophagus.
"I used metal picks -- they're brass and copper -- which I always held in my mouth, in the exact place where I got the tongue cancer," he said at the time. "Plus, I basically live in a recording studio that's filled with electromagnetic energy. So that's one theory. I mean, I was smoking and doing a lot of drugs and a lot of everything. But at the same time, my lungs are totally clear. This is just my own theory, but the doctors say it's possible."
Van Halen was a 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 elevated him to the status of rock god.
With his distinct solos, Eddie Van Halen was the engine behind 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 best-selling artists of all time and the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen at No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists....
Mike McCready of Pearl Jam told Rolling Stone magazine that listening to Van Halen's "Eruption" was like hearing Mozart for the first time. "He gets sounds that aren't necessarily guitar sounds — a lot of harmonics, textures that happen just because of how he picks."
Much more at the link:
Eddie Van Halen, legendary rock guitarist, dead at 65 | Fox News
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As another person wrote on Facebook, the first thing I think of when I hear about the death of a celebrity is, "did they know Jesus?"
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Sad news, and I agree with what VW said above - But to be honest, he's another one I thought had already passed on.
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Originally Posted by
victoryword
As another person wrote on Facebook, the first thing I think of when I hear about the death of a celebrity is, "did they know Jesus?"
That was my exact sentiment last night when a friend texted me with the news-"I hope he knows Jesus".
Sadly, when fox news came back after a commercial break with the news, the song Running with the devil was playing.
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I was a fan of theirs back in '79-80. Went to a concert and even in my bombed out state of mind knew this was about as far into worldliness as I wanted to go. There is and was no greater hedonist than David Lee. And yes, watching Eddie go into "Eruption" was amazing at the time.
I had a party friend die from the same kind of cancer and this past year have watched another party friend going through tongue/mouth cancer though it appears he is doing ok. Makes me wonder if smoking weed had anything to do with it (not metal guitar pics in the mouth as Eddie said).
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Originally Posted by
FireBrand
I was a fan of theirs back in '79-80. Went to a concert and even in my bombed out state of mind knew this was about as far into worldliness as I wanted to go. There is and was no greater hedonist than David Lee. And yes, watching Eddie go into "Eruption" was amazing at the time.
I had a party friend die from the same kind of cancer and this past year have watched another party friend going through tongue/mouth cancer though it appears he is doing ok. Makes me wonder if smoking weed had anything to do with it (not metal guitar pics in the mouth as Eddie said).
Eddie used metal picks and he had a theory that it came from holding them in his mouth. He had cancer on his tongue in the same place where he would hold the picks in his mouth.
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Originally Posted by
fuego
Eddie used metal picks and he had a theory that it came from holding them in his mouth. He had cancer on his tongue in the same place where he would hold the picks in his mouth.
Yes and was what I had referenced. I don't believe that was the cause.
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Originally Posted by
FireBrand
Yes and was what I had referenced. I don't believe that was the cause.
Duh. I just saw where you said that in your post. :)
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