Who is Eddie Van Halen? What is the musician famous for? How successful was his career? All this will be discussed in our publication.
early years
Eddie Van Halen, whose photo can be seen in our publication, was born on January 26, 1955 in the city of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The father of our hero was a professional musician, fluent in playing the clarinet and saxophone. It was he who instilled in Eddie a love of high art. When the boy was 7 years old, the family emigrated to the United States, settling in the city of Pasadena, California.
From an early age, Eddie Van Halen learned to play the keyboard. As a child, he became the winner of a number of competitions of young talents. Alex also played the piano - the elder brother of our hero. However, such an occupation quickly bored him. Soon, the guy bought a guitar. In turn, Eddie sat down at the drum kit. Together they organized an ensemble, which attracted several comrades. Soon, Alex began to excel his younger brother in the skill of playing the drums. Eddie was very upset and began to devote all his free time to studying the electric guitar, intending to "take revenge on the offender." As it turned out later, this decision became crucial for Van Halen Jr.
Career start
In 1972, Eddie Van Halen, whose growth in terms of comprehending playing the electric guitar was noticeable to the naked eye, decided to put together a capable rock band. The team was called Genesis. However, after several performances, the musicians learned that the name was already taken by another group. Soon the guys became known on stage as Mammoth. Young Eddie Van Halen played lead guitar and performed vocal parts. Big brother Alex took a place behind the drums. The role of the bass player was assigned to their comrade Mark Stone.
To organize their performances, the group rented equipment from the familiar musician Lee Roth. Over time, Eddie Van Halen became disillusioned with his own vocal abilities. The same Lee Roth came to replace him. Thus, the group “killed two birds with one stone”, saving money on equipment rental and getting a good vocalist. The former name of the Mammoth band was changed to Van Halen.
In 1976, Gene Simmons, the famous producer and bass player of the legendary Kiss, attended a performance by a beginner band. The latter was impressed by the skill of the musicians, offering them the opportunity to create professional demos at their own expense. So Eddie Van Halen, along with his comrades, ended up at Electric Lady Studio in New York City.
First major successes
In 1977, after hearing a few recordings of Van Halen, Warner. Bros offered a young team a contract. Not even a year had passed before the first music album saw the light. The album, which was released under the same name Van Halen, was warmly received by critics. A particularly wide audience was struck by the special energy of the solo parts on the electric guitar.
About two million copies of the records were sold throughout the year. Some songs from the group's debut album began to occupy the highest positions in the popular Billboard charts. Ultimately, the authoritative music publication Guitar Player named Eddie Van Halen one of the best young guitarists.
Change sound
The group changed its style a little when in 1985 the place of the former vocalist Lee Roth was taken by the new frontman Sammy Hagar. Eddie Van Halen began to put more emphasis on combining guitar parts with keyboard solos. The sound of the band’s compositions has become less aggressive. Such a dramatic change made it possible to draw attention to the group from an even wider audience of listeners.
Despite all the positive changes, Hagar failed to gain a foothold as a regular member of the popular team. In 1996, after several high-profile quarrels with the rest of the group, Sammy left the place of frontman. Eddie Van Halen again resorted to the services of Lee Roth, with whom the team released an extremely successful collection of best hits.
Health problems
In the late 90s, Eddie Van Halen was forced to temporarily stop active performances on stage. The guitarist was diagnosed with oral cancer. The performer went through several rehabilitation courses and managed to avoid a disaster. Van Halen later stated that the disease had nothing to do with extreme addiction to smoking and alcohol. According to the guitarist, he had to spend hours holding a metal pick in his mouth, which caused the ailment. Eddie continues to argue that cigarettes are unable to cause cancer. Despite suffering a serious illness, smokers of the famous guitarist can be seen to this day.
The unique style of Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen is famous for inventing a unique style of playing electric guitar. It is believed that he belongs to the development of the technique of tapping, which involves the extraction of sounds with the help of light taps on the neck of the instrument.
Eddie made a significant contribution to the development of rock music. For decades, he has set the fashion for expressive, speedy guitar playing. Van Halen was one of the few who managed to reproduce on the stage truly “wild”, mind-stirring sounds, which was helped by the use of a self-made tremolo system known as Floyd Rose. The latter, by the way, is extremely popular among guitarists today.