The legend is gone.

It’s a word we reserve for the best of the best.  Trendsetters and pioneers.  Eddie Van Halen was and will always be a legend.

There wasn’t a guitar player alive that didn’t want to learn ‘Eruption’ when the first Van Halen record came out.  Eddie had this incredible way of shredding but not losing the non-technical audience.  Those players that came after him in the 1980’s were all disciples of the wizardry of his guitar playing.  

That’s one of the things I loved most about his songwriting.  He could dazzle but every note had substance to them.  Finger picking to hammer-offs to some of the most bad-ass guitar riffs you’ve ever heard, Eddie Van Halen was the king of the modern guitar.

I went through a period when I started to identify other guitar players that I called my favorites at the time.  And they are all great players.  But at the end of the day it always came back to Eddie Van Halen.  He was the best and my favorite.

The ingenuity.  The tone.  That Phase 90 pedal.  Those EVH Heads.  THAT GUITAR.  “Frankenstein” wasn’t just a guitar, it was a work of art.  It’s also probably one of the most recognizable music related items of the 80’s.  I’m talking about Michael Jackson’s glove.  Prince’s Motorcycle.  George Michael’s leather jacket.  Madonna’s wedding dress.  And Eddie Van Halen’s guitar.  Legendary stuff.

Over the last several years I’ve been re-obsessing on the David Lee Roth version of Van Halen including the last album – ‘A Different Kind Of Truth’.  Literally, last week I was going to put out a tweet that read: “A Different Kind Of Truth is one of the best Van Halen albums.  Let’s duke it out”  I got busy and forgot to put it out.  

1984 has always been and probably will always be my favorite Van Halen record for reasons I wrote here.  But ‘Diver Down’ is the most bitchin’, in my opinion.  That albums tone is just.. different.  EVH’s guitar tone is just so dark and amazing.  That’s probably why I liked the last VH record so much.  It had that same kind of vibe for me.

In January of this year I wrote an article celebrating his 65th birthday.  The world knew that he was sick but I didn’t think I would be writing an article with the sad news of his passing so soon.  In fact, I almost feel the need to take a break as I feel the emotions running through me at this very minute.  It’ amazing how someone you’ve never met can impact your life so much.  His music absolutely had an impact on my life and millions of others.

In that article I ranked my ten favorite Van Halen songs.  As the days will eventually pass I will put together my favorite Eddie guitar songs.  But for now I’m going back through the entire catalog to just listen to the legend that was Eddie Van Halen.  A talent like his only comes through once in a while and I’m grateful I was alive when he put out some of the greatest guitar playing the world has even known.

Rest In Peace – Eddie Van Halen – January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020.

-Tommy Marz

I’d love to hear some of your favorite Eddie Van Halen memories.  You can tweet me @tommymarzband on twitter.  Thanks for taking the time read.