Rock guitar royalty, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has died at age 65 following a long battle with throat cancer. The news came through via a Tweet from his son Wolfgang Van Halen this morning.
— Wolfgang Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) October 6, 2020
Eddie Van Halen co-founded the legendary rock band Van Halen in 1972 with his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Mark Stone, and singer David Lee Roth.
Eddie was a key songwriter in the band and co-wrote the classics, Jump, Panama and Hots for Teacher. He also wrote and played one of the most famous and face-melting solos of all time, the guitar solo for Michael Jackson’s Beat It.
A classically trained pianist, he took up the guitar at the behest of his brother and became a true innovator of the instrument with his two-handed tapping technique and lightning-fast playing.
Eddie had been battling throat cancer for five years before being hospitalised in 2019.
The internet is flooding with tributes from artists and peers from the likes of Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Gene Simmons (Kiss), Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath).
Today the world says goodbye to one of rock’s greatest guitar players.
. @EddieVanHalen was one of the nicest guys I ever worked with and we shared so many laughs together. His influence on music and especially the guitar has been immeasurable. He was an absolute legend. Eddie, I’ll see you on the other side, my friend. Love, Ozzy.
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) October 6, 2020
Eddie Van Halen has died aged 65. He was surrounded by his family in Santa Monica, California.
