Eddie Van Halen RIP

[MikeEdgerton]

I read that in an article today along with his doctor saying that it wasn't caused by the metal guitar picks.

[MikeEdgerton]

By the way, anyone interested in Eddie's Kramer guitars might appreciate some of this video. It drags a little at the start but basically it's my friend Paul Unkert, the guy that built those guitars for Van Halen at Kramer and some other Kramer folks chatting. Paul is pretty laid back about it all. When asked about the design of the headstock and the placement of the tuners he answers something like "We were just trying to keep the buttons from hitting the headstock". I like the honesty.

[j. condino]

Regarding Van Halen's smoking habit (Post #8): listening to a morning "talk" show (Rover's Morning Glory, if you must know), I heard him quoted that his throat cancer was not due to smoking (although he quit some time ago), but to a habit he had of keeping a metal guitar pick in his mouth, perhaps during performances. This was his take on carcinogenic exposure.

Given 40+ years of living the rockstar life, it is equally likely that he may have contracted throat cancer from HPV and his 1000s of lady adventures.

When I was an aspiring teenage guitar player and saw them them perform for first time on the 1980 World Invasion tour, his guitar playing certainly left an impression on me, BUT...

After the show, it was incomprehensible that four guys with no real job or education who jumped around on stage for two hours in funny colored tights could have hundreds and hundreds of amazingly beautiful women attacking them so crazy that they needed huge security for protection. That is what I remember more than the guitar nerdiness!!! I also have memories of not being able to hear my teachers speak in class for a week afterwards due to the ringing in my ears.....

[Murphy Slaw]

Eddie saved us from disco...

He might have helped. I think it was Skynyrd, Allman Bros, CDB and Marshall Tucker.

But Eddie was what we all aspired to be. He broke through from nothing with determination and raw talent, looked cool, got Valerie, smoked and drank all he wanted and took everything to excess.

And it killed him.

Right on, Eddie.

Right on!

[domradave]

Eddie did not read music. No one can hear you reading!!!

[Caleb]

For those interested, here is a lesser known acoustic side of EVH. I might have remembered this wrong, but it seems like in a guitar mag interview around the time VHIII came out, Ed said he owned only two acoustic guitars, both made by Collings. If that’s the case this is probably one of them on this recording. I also remember him saying he often used coins as picks. It sounds like he could be using a coin here, as well as being tuned down very low. I’m not a BG purist and happen to love acoustic tones like this. Anyway, this little tune is an example of EVH’s brilliance IMO:
https://youtu.be/h3I0Kdb-A2I

Another lesser known song, and one where Ed sings lead and plays a cello solo. The message in this song has alway moved me.
https://youtu.be/K07gLBVeLR4