He was an essential figure for all hard rock lovers.
Guitarist Eddie Van Halen died at the age of 65, his son announced on Twitter Tuesday (October 6th).
“My father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, lost his long and difficult battle with cancer this morning,” writes Wolf Van Halen.
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- Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) October 6, 2020
Eddie Van Halen was born in the Netherlands but grew up in Pasadena, near Los Angeles.
Made popular by their hit "Jump" in 1984, the Van Halen group was founded in the 1970s by Eddie and his older brother Alex on drums accompanied by singer David Lee Roth.
From 1978 to 1998 the group released twelve albums, all of which entered the Billboard 200 top 20. The group has more than 75 million albums sold worldwide and several Grammy Award nominations.
"Guitar hero"
Eddie Van Halen belonged to the category of "guitar heroes" just like Jimmy Hendrix, Carlos Santana or even Jimmy Paige.
This unofficial title designated guitarists who combined technical ease and sense of melody.
Eddie Van Halen was notably famous for his virtuosity in the use of tapping, a guitar technique consisting of tapping a string rather than strumming or plucking it.
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