Illustration courtesy of Linnaea Marks
Guitarist Eddie Van Halen passed away on October 6, 2020, leaving rock fans, including some at San Luis Obispo High School, in shock.
As the legendary lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, he has made a name for himself as one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time. His insane tapping method in his guitar solo in their 1978 song “Eruption” amazed fans, popularizing the technique and placing the song at number two on Guitar World’s poll of the One Hundred Greatest Guitar Solos. After a long battle with cancer, he passed away at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, leaving his incredible legacy and life achievements.
“I found out [about his death] from a childhood friend who texted me. We learned to play guitar around the same time and while he had lots of different guitar heroes, we both agree that Eddie was one of the best. I think anybody who plays guitar knows just how good Eddie was and respects his talent,” said science teacher Ryan Ritchie.
As described by Rolling Stone, Van Halen changed the way electric guitarists at the time played, the sounds they aimed to achieve, even the physical construction of the instruments they used. He even had multiple guitar patents to his name.
“Eddie is probably best known for his incredible solos, many of which use a technique called ‘finger-tapping’. It’s a style of guitar playing that uses very quick movements from both hands in sync with each other. It’s pretty hard to do and takes a lot of coordination and practice. He made it seem effortless,” said Ritchie.
Their 1978 song ‘Eruption” is even considered one of the best guitar solos of all time.
“Listen to the solo that leads into ‘You Really Got Me’ for an example of how good he is. That solo has its own name, ‘Eruption’. It will melt your face clean off.”
Listen to Van Halen’s ‘Eruption’ here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCwigPhpiXs as a way to remember the incredible life of Eddie Van Halen.
Sources: Rolling Stone Magazine, Guitar World
