Eddie Van Halen (65) tapte sin lange kamp gjennom de siste fem år mot strupekreft og døde dessverre 6. oktober. Eddie Van Halen vil forbli udødelig gjennom sin musikk, ikke minst som en av rockehistoriens aller største gitarister.  Han er bl.a. berømt for å popularisere ‘tapping’ -teknikken som revolusjonerte heavy metal og har blitt ansett som en av de største gitaristene i historien, mannen som gjorde gitarsoloens kunst til et fyrverkeri. Som barn vant han pianokonkurranser ved å improvisere i Bach- eller Mozart-oppføringer, men byttet snart til gitar, og lærte Eric Claptons soloer på Cream-platene og ble inspirert av det geniale gitarspillet til Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page.

I 1972 dannet han et band med broren Alex (trommer); opprinnelig kalt Genesis, men endret navnet til Van Halen i 1974. Sanger Dave Lee Roth ble invitert til å være med for å spare penger på å leie lydanlegget hans, og sammen med bassisten Michael Anthony ble bandet snart svært populære på rockeklubbscenene i LA. Deres debutalbum «Van Halen» fra 1978 ble stor suksess og solgte ca. 10 millioner eks. Bandet har solgt over 80 millioner eks. verden over.

Eddies legendariske solo på ‘Eruption’ er også kåret til den nest beste solo noensinne.

Eddie Van Halen har inspirert flere generasjoner i rockens unike verden og vil leve videre gjennom alt det fantastiske musikalske han har skapt gjennom flere tiår.

Les også: Hvil i fred Eddie Van Halen

Slik reagerer rockegitarister på hans bortgang:

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— AC/DC (@acdc) October 7, 2020

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Eddie gave so much of himself to us His music will live on forever My heart goes out to Eddie’s family Thank you Eddie , and with much love and respect . May you find much Rest In your Peace Kirk Hammett #eddievanhalen ?

Et innlegg delt av Kirk Hammett (@kirkhammett) Okt. 6, 2020 kl. 2:58 PDT

My heart is broken. Eddie was not only a Guitar God, but a genuinely beautiful soul. Rest in peace, Eddie! …Eddie Van Halen Dead at 65 from Cancer https://t.co/gITtcndQVv

— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) October 6, 2020

Words cannot describe how monumental the loss of Edward Van Halen is to the music community. He inspired generations of guitar players of all genres. His playing was unrivaled in its ingenuity and its ferocity. Rest In Peace to the greatest Rock Guitarist of all time. pic.twitter.com/DHyjERxR2Z

— Joe Bonamassa (Official) (@JBONAMASSA) October 6, 2020

I am saddened to hear to news one of my true guitar heroes death, Eddie Van Halen. He expanded the landscape of lead guitar playing, and took it to another level like a turbo charged muscle car leaving everyone behind. I was very influenced by his emotional lead playing. EVH RIP pic.twitter.com/b26nrXYPti

— Bruce Kulick (@brucekulick) October 6, 2020

Crushed. So fucking crushed. RIP Eddie Van Halen. You changed our world. You were the Mozart of rock guitar. Travel safe rockstar.

— —Nikki Sixx— (@NikkiSixx) October 6, 2020

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Rest in peace eddie!A true original, I love early van Halen,

Et innlegg delt av $teve Jone$ (@jonesysjukebox) Okt. 6, 2020 kl. 12:50 PDT

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I had this picture on my wall as a teenager. My mind is seriously blown right now. I cried. He is the GOAT. Guitarists still haven’t caught up to what he’s accomplished on those first five records. He was one in a billion. I was just playing “Eruption“ two days ago at the request of a fan, thinking, goddamn this song is still so fucking hard to play over 40 years later. And that fucking guitar tone… Seriously… That fucking guitar tone even in this day and age is complete savagery. . This dude was a ROCK STAR. Larger than life personality, so much style, so much class. They broke the mold with Eddie Van Halen. Rest in peace legend?

Et innlegg delt av robbflynn (@robbflynn) Okt. 6, 2020 kl. 12:51 PDT

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There have been many big losses in the music world but few that just stop you in your tracks, leave you speechless and basically unable to function. Similarly, very few for whom you can say – as for countless others in your field – that without this person, you might not be who you are today, for your life would look very different. Ironically I was just planning to post a new track I’ve been holed up working on that’s directly influenced by him, playing an instrument based on his (swipe to see). It doesn’t feel appropriate to post it today (it’s another humorous song a la Zappa…maybe tomorrow), and the timing is eerie. There so much more to say, at a total loss for words. I can’t believe I have to type this right now: RIP #eddievanhalen ?? #ripevh

Et innlegg delt av Alex Skolnick (@alexskolnick) Okt. 6, 2020 kl. 1:32 PDT

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Rest In Peace, EVH. One of the greatest, most inventive, truly visionary musicians of all time. An unparalleled titan in the annals of rock n roll. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for every spectacular note.

Et innlegg delt av Tom Morello (@tommorello) Okt. 6, 2020 kl. 12:50 PDT

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