Eddie Van Halen
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen
January 26, 1955
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Eddie Van Halen is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, as well as one of the most influential.
Eddie was born in Amsterdam and moved to Pasadena, California where he and his brother Alex learned to play classical piano. The brothers switched to guitar and drums, and Eddie often locked himself in his room for hours at a time studying the works of Cream and Led Zeppelin. He often stated that Eric Clapton is his main influence.
Eddie and his brother Alex, along with David Lee Roth & Michael Anthony formed "Van Halen". Their debut album was released in 1978 and took the world by storm. To this day, it is still considered one of the greatest debut albums of all time. No one had ever heard guitar playing like Eddie's before. It was lightning fast at times, yet still innovative and melodic.
Van Halen created an amazing body of work, with Eddie formulating some of the most finely crafted and memorable guitar solos of all time.
Van Halen's approach to the guitar involves several distinctive components. His use of two-handed tapping, natural and artificial harmonics, vibrato, and tremolo picking, combined with his rhythmic sensibility and melodic approach, have influenced an entire generation of guitarists. The instrumental "Eruption" was voted No. 2 in Guitar World magazine's readers poll of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.
"You Really Got Me", "Runnin' With the Devil", "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love", "Jamie's Cryin'", "Dance the Night Away", "Everybody Wants Some", "Unchained", "Panama", "Hot For Teacher", "Jump" & "1984"! That is just a small sampling of the masterpieces created by Eddie and the Band during the band's heydey from 1978-1985.
Eddie Van Halen redefined what was possible on the electric guitar, and influenced a generation to pick up the instrument.
Thank You for your contributions and your genius playing.
Happy Birthday Eddie Van Halen!
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