Edward Van Halen
January 26, 1955 - October 6, 2020
(Note: I'm aware that this post is very late but as mentioned before, I haven't been using this blog as much. I'll keep it going though so I thought I'd write something about the late Mr. Van Halen- with part fact and part personal thoughts)
Eddie Van Halen, guitarist and co-founding member of rock icons Van Halen, died on October 6 after a long battle with cancer. Van Halen was 65. The news was confirmed by his son and Van Halen bassist Wolfgang "Wolfie" Van Halen. According to multiple reports, Van Halen was surrounded by his wife Jamie and son Wolfgang- along with a visit from Van Halen's ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli, who is Wolfgang's mother. Formed in California during the 1970s, Van Halen would go on to become one of the most popular rock bands of all time. While originally formed by Eddie and his brother drummer Alex Van Halen, the band would soon find their classic line up after bassist Michael Anthony and singer David Lee Roth joined. After playing as the house band at the Whisky-A-Go-Go for a while, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons helped the band record a demo- which got the band signed to Warner Brothers Records. From 1978 to 1984, the band would release six studio albums- featuring classics such as "Runnin' With the Devil," "Dance the Night Away," "Unchained" and the Billboard #1 hit single "Jump."
After Roth's departure in 1985, the band continued with former Montrose lead singer Sammy Hagar. With Hagar, the band's success continued with hits such as "Dreams," "When Its Love" and "Right Now." After a failed reunion with Roth in the mid 1990s, the band tried out Extreme frontman Gary Cherone as their new singer. Unlike Roth and Hagar, Cherone wasn't as lucky: his lone album with the band, 1998's Van Halen III, was a critical and commercial failure. After Cherone left in 1999, the band would remain on hiatus until 2004 when the band reunited with Hagar. This resulted in a disastrous tour from 2004-05- as Eddie's substance abuse was slowing him down. After a stint in rehab, the band reunited once more in 2007 with Roth back and Eddie's then 16-year-old son Wolfgang replacing Michael Anthony. The band's last album was 2012's A Different Kind of Truth, which was not only the band's first album since Van Halen III but the first to feature Roth since 1984. The band would continue to perform and tour until 2015. No official announcement was made about Van Halen being together or not. In 2019, word had gotten out that Eddie's health was declining- with David Lee Roth even chiming in. However, Eddie would resurface on social media not too long afterwards. In reality, Eddie was in a battle with cancer- which he was first diagnosed with in 2000 in the form of tongue cancer. Eddie recovered but over the last two decades, Eddie's cancer would return.
So what can I say about Eddie Van Halen that hasn't already been said? In the weeks following his passing, almost everyone in the music business has commented on Eddie's influence. I was lucky enough to see Van Halen twice- once in 2004 with Sammy and again in 2007 with David. I can't help but admit that my love for the band kind of dwindled after Michael Anthony was fired. It just pissed me off that we were SO CLOSE to having the classic line up reunite but Eddie had to have Wolfie in the band. With Wolfie being only a few month older than me, it's easy to see why I'd be upset: there was a kid in one of my favorite bands! However, that's all in the past. Looking back, I'm happy that Eddie got to have his son join Van Halen. Wolfie has grown to become a fine musician himself and I'm sure he'll treasure those times sharing the stage with his dad. Van Halen are one of my favorite bands of all time and Eddie was the driving force in the band. The guy was a master at the guitar and his contributions to the hard rock genre are tremendous. I got into the band in 2003 or so when I was in fifth grade- just as I was discovering dozens and dozens of rock bands. Their videos were on VH1 Classic often and soon enough, I was slowly collecting their music- or at least whatever I could get a hold of. It's a bummer to hear about Eddie's passing but the guy left a lot of music behind. With that, we should be grateful.
RIP, Eddie.
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