Biography
Eddie Van Halen ranks among the select circle of players who redefined what could be achieved on their instrument. As a guitarist he brought exceptional vision and technical command to the role, devising and popularizing methods such as finger-tapping, hammer-ons, and whammy-bar dive bombs that quickly entered the standard vocabulary of countless other players. Those same devices appeared throughout the 1978 self-titled debut by his band Van Halen; the album’s lasting appeal rested on the group’s ability to balance heavy metal and pop. While Eddie and his drumming brother Alex drove the music toward hard rock, frontman David Lee Roth guided the songs toward the Top 40, a combination that captivated a vast audience in the early 1980s. After the quartet claimed its first number-one position with the 1983 release 1984 and the single “Jump,” Roth departed, yet the band continued with Sammy Hagar, allowing Eddie to trade licks with a second guitarist and explore fresh sonic directions. Van Halen remained among rock’s dominant acts through the 1990s before slipping into a period of relative inactivity interrupted only by sporadic tours that featured either Hagar or Roth. The group issued just a single studio album in the twenty-first century, A Different Kind of Truth in 2011, yet Eddie’s stature and influence endured until his death from cancer in 2020, his technical gifts and impact never waning.
Born Edward Lodewijk Van Halen on January 26, 1955, in the Netherlands, he relocated with his family to the United States during the 1960s. He and his older brother Alex began piano lessons in childhood, lessons that later shaped both brothers’ careers. Captivated by British Invasion acts, especially the Dave Clark Five, Eddie first took up drums while Alex chose guitar; the siblings soon exchanged instruments after Eddie discovered that Alex had mastered the drum kit during his paper-route hours. As Eddie concentrated on guitar, players such as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page shaped his approach.
The Van Halen brothers performed at backyard parties and clubs around Los Angeles, blending covers and originals, and in the early 1970s joined singer David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony to form Mammoth. At that time Eddie introduced the two-handed tapping technique that would become his signature and be imitated by innumerable guitarists. His rapid execution and phrasing quickly established him as the premier guitarist on the local scene, and by the mid-1970s the band had shortened its name to Van Halen. Eddie also began constructing custom guitars, applying tape stripes to Stratocaster-shaped bodies to create a distinctive visual trademark.
Warner Bros. signed the group in 1977 and released the classic debut album the following year, initiating a run of multi-platinum records and sold-out tours. Almost at once Eddie was hailed as the leading new rock guitarist, collecting yearly poll victories from publications such as Guitar Player and Guitar World. Beyond six-string work he expanded the band’s palette by adding keyboards, heard on the 1984 chart-topping single “Jump,” and occasionally sang lead, as on the 1998 track “How Many Say I.” Despite successive vocalists—Roth, Sammy Hagar, and Gary Cherone—Van Halen’s popularity held steady.
Outside the band’s recordings Eddie contributed to other artists’ projects, most notably an uncredited solo on Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit “Beat It,” plus joint efforts with Queen’s Brian May on the 1983 EP Star Fleet Project and with Roger Waters on the 1999 track “Lost Boys Calling” from the soundtrack The Legend of 1900. He also composed music for the films The Wild Life (1985) and Twister (1996).
Although he endorsed Kramer instruments throughout the 1980s, Eddie launched his own guitar line with the Ernie Ball Company in the early 1990s before moving to Peavey in the mid-1990s. His personal life drew tabloid attention through his marriage to actress Valerie Bertinelli and a well-publicized struggle with alcohol that he overcame by the late 1990s. Diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000, he underwent surgery that removed part of his tongue yet was declared cancer-free in 2002; subsequent recurrences required ongoing treatment for throat cancer in the late 2010s. Eddie Van Halen died on October 6, 2020, at the age of 65.
Born Edward Lodewijk Van Halen on January 26, 1955, in the Netherlands, he relocated with his family to the United States during the 1960s. He and his older brother Alex began piano lessons in childhood, lessons that later shaped both brothers’ careers. Captivated by British Invasion acts, especially the Dave Clark Five, Eddie first took up drums while Alex chose guitar; the siblings soon exchanged instruments after Eddie discovered that Alex had mastered the drum kit during his paper-route hours. As Eddie concentrated on guitar, players such as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page shaped his approach.
The Van Halen brothers performed at backyard parties and clubs around Los Angeles, blending covers and originals, and in the early 1970s joined singer David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony to form Mammoth. At that time Eddie introduced the two-handed tapping technique that would become his signature and be imitated by innumerable guitarists. His rapid execution and phrasing quickly established him as the premier guitarist on the local scene, and by the mid-1970s the band had shortened its name to Van Halen. Eddie also began constructing custom guitars, applying tape stripes to Stratocaster-shaped bodies to create a distinctive visual trademark.
Warner Bros. signed the group in 1977 and released the classic debut album the following year, initiating a run of multi-platinum records and sold-out tours. Almost at once Eddie was hailed as the leading new rock guitarist, collecting yearly poll victories from publications such as Guitar Player and Guitar World. Beyond six-string work he expanded the band’s palette by adding keyboards, heard on the 1984 chart-topping single “Jump,” and occasionally sang lead, as on the 1998 track “How Many Say I.” Despite successive vocalists—Roth, Sammy Hagar, and Gary Cherone—Van Halen’s popularity held steady.
Outside the band’s recordings Eddie contributed to other artists’ projects, most notably an uncredited solo on Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit “Beat It,” plus joint efforts with Queen’s Brian May on the 1983 EP Star Fleet Project and with Roger Waters on the 1999 track “Lost Boys Calling” from the soundtrack The Legend of 1900. He also composed music for the films The Wild Life (1985) and Twister (1996).
Although he endorsed Kramer instruments throughout the 1980s, Eddie launched his own guitar line with the Ernie Ball Company in the early 1990s before moving to Peavey in the mid-1990s. His personal life drew tabloid attention through his marriage to actress Valerie Bertinelli and a well-publicized struggle with alcohol that he overcame by the late 1990s. Diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000, he underwent surgery that removed part of his tongue yet was declared cancer-free in 2002; subsequent recurrences required ongoing treatment for throat cancer in the late 2010s. Eddie Van Halen died on October 6, 2020, at the age of 65.