RIP Eddie Van Halen

The guitar ad that defined an era

You will be missed. 

Van Halen.  They were the bad boys of Rock and Roll, but with a wink and a smile.  While most in the 'heavy metal' genre were about the leather and chains, the greasy hair and the dour glares at the camera, Van Halen and company were the 'fun in the sun - but with class' act that took the music world by storm.  

Trained in classical music, Eddie and his brother Alex were both virtuosos in their own right.  Alex dreamed of being a guitarist as well, with Eddie taking up the drums behind his older brother.  But it was not meant to be.  Alex eventually drifted to the drums and Eddie decided to change music by applying his pianist techniques to his electric guitar.  

From there they met fellow Pasadena classmate and cheerleader David Roth, and eventually added jazz bassist Michael Anthony.  They became a must see on the local Pasadena music scene, eventually attracting the attention of KISS frontman Gene Simmons.  They signed with Warner Bros Records, and released their first album in 1978.  I was in 5th Grade.  

Back then, despite the creative explosion in the 1960s, music still had its defined genres.  And heavy metal/rock was not Top 40.  Though their debut album barely made it into the top 20, it went on to be certified platinum.  In fact, until late in their career with yet another ill-advised lineup change, Van Halen was the first act to have every album go platinum.  Their first album would become one of the top selling albums of all time, second only to their out of the box smash album 1984.  

Ever ones to hype themselves, there was nothing they wouldn't do.  From parachuting into a concert to the famous M&Ms clause, they were the court jesters of Rock.  With a solid rhythm section - and monster drum set - of Alex and Michael, Eddie broke the boundaries of Rock music and amped up the sound by a million miles an hour.  Rock guitar would never be the same. 

On stage, however, they shined even more.  Initially opening for Black Sabbath, Van Halen quickly became the group to see.  Their onstage antics, led by frontman and natural showman David Lee Roth, took the concert circuit by storm as much as their music.  Roth's acrobatics and stage presence, added to their whirlwind performances, made seeing Van Halen one of the teenage bucket list items of the day. 

By the time 1984 exploded on the airwaves, Van Halen was one of the top music acts in the world. Their megahit Jump solidified that, and helped bring Hard Rock into the Top 40 mainstream.  Though it wouldn't make it to #1 (held at #2 by the unparalleled success of Michael Jackson's Thriller), 1984 made Van Halen one of the biggest acts of the decade.  In our part of town, the big deal was to listen to the Buzzard's (radio station 96) weekly 'Guitar Wars' and wonder if a pretender would unseat Eddie the master. 

And then it ended.  The reasons for the breakup are not known since each side has its own version.  But the breakup that came after Roth's solo EP Crazy From the Heat dominated the entertainment news as much as their earlier success had done.

Though they tried different lineups and incarnations, the chemistry and magic they had with Roth was never equalled.  Some say the breakup was simply the case of Eddie resenting the fact that increasingly popular culture identified the boisterous and bigger than life Roth with the band bearing Eddie's name. 

Whatever the cause, it brought an abrupt end to a group that loomed large over my formative years as a youngster.  I first heard of them in middle school.  By 1984, they - apart from Jackson - were the act to see.  Getting tickets to their 1984 concert (labeled the 'Top Jimmy Tour' IIRC') was like wanting to win the lottery.  They were the epitome of cool, talent and fun.  In many ways, they were what the mid 1980s became as we realized Reagan wouldn't nuke the world, America might win the Cold War, and money and permissiveness were flowing like rivers.

But that was long ago.  Eddie died today of cancer, no doubt egged on by his lifestyle and his behavior over the years.  He had struggled with it before, and on more than one occasion, his health was called into question.  Like many of his generation, long life is relative.  He leaves behind his loved ones, his millions of fans, those musicians he inspired, and at least one set of memories from a bygone era.  

May God grand him peace and forgiveness and love, and cover the hearts and minds of those he leaves behind with the grace that surpasses all understanding.  Thanks for the memoires Eddie, and may you find peace in the life you are entering.