The creator of the tapping technique, Dutch guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen, known as Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, opened his eyes to the world on January 26, 1955.
There is not much about the childhood years of the famous guitarist. The only thing known is that he started music with the piano, got bored with the piano and left the piano and started playing drums… “Where did the drums come from?” I can hear you say. These are the years when Eddie was unaware of the talent that has earned him worldwide recognition!
These periods of time that people spend unaware that they will do great things have always been interesting to me. Think about it, you realize your talent, you do great work from the moment you go on and start working, and your life changes. This is the full side of the glass.
We also need to see the glass half empty, a life you spend unconsciously when you have an ore waiting to be discovered. Be careful that don’t leave that glass empty. Remember, if you are a talented guitarist, you will never learn this unless you pick up a guitar.
In February 1962, his family moved to the United States and settled in Pasadena, California.
Eddie Van Halen continued playing drums for a while. His brother, Alex Van Halen, was interested in guitar during these years. But there was something wrong, as if the two separate pieces of the puzzle were struggling to adapt to a place that didn’t belong to them!
After a short while, the two brothers exchanged their instrument. Eddie Van Halen picked up the guitar to do great work. His brother, Alex, also took over the drums. The adventure was beginning…
Eddie, who started playing the guitar at the age of 12, practiced 8-9 hours a day. It was getting better with each passing day. By the age of 14, he was able to play every single detail of Eric Clapton’s solos in Cream.
In 1974, the two brothers laid the foundations of the Van Halen group with the group “Mammoth”. They started playing in Pasadena, where they met David Lee Roth.
Growing up in a wealthy California family at the time, Roth was performing in Redball Jet. Impressed by the brothers, Van Halen joined forces with the group. Later, the trio met bassist Michael Anthony and included him in the band.
The band started calling themselves ‘Van Halen’ after discovering there was another band called ‘Mammoth’. For the next three years, they played in both club and hotel bars, in Pasadena, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles.
Their repertoire included everything from pop and rock to disco. However, after a while, they continued on their way in their own way. Van Halen became the most popular local band in Los Angeles a few years later, and Eddie was now known for his breakthrough technique.
The band was quite successful. Their albums were selling by millions, and they didn’t leave the top music charts to anyone. Van Halen II, released in 1979, was able to continue the success of the band.
Years were chasing years, Eddie was adding glory to his glory and his reputation. Everyone was curious about the secret technique of this crazy man who turns his back on the audience at concerts!
Released in 1982 and playing on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the world’s best-selling album, Eddie played the guitar solos of this album’s best-known song Beat It. This was one of the most important points in Eddie Van Halen’s career.
According to one rumor, Eddie only asked Michael Jackson $ 500 for the job and regretted the song’s hit.
His solo for “Beat It” was appreciated by his famous guitar teacher Arlen Roth as “A monumental lead break of great proportions”.
Van Halen released another album in 1984. This album was also very successful. Although Roth initially hesitated to use electronics on this album, he highly praised the band’s expansion of their range.
Although Van Halen achieved different successes every day, the situation within the group band not at all pleasant. During the tour in 1984, each member physically separated on stage.
Roth was dissatisfied with Eddie’s appearance in the song ‘Beat It’ and was bored with Eddie Roth’s attitude.
As a result, Roth was kicked out of the band and Sammy Hagar was chosen as the soloist in his place. Many critics said Hagar could not sustain the success of Van Halen, but contrary to what was thought, the success of the band continued.
But in the spring of 1995, tensions began to grow between Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar, who hadn’t gotten along for a while. By this time, Eddie had begun treatment for alcoholism.
According to Hagar, Eddie fired him shortly after these. However, Eddie said Hagar left the band of his own free will.
Later, Van Halen met with Roth again and began recording songs. Rock media was very happy with this news. Everyone wanted Roth to return to the band. However, there would be no reunification. Eddie Van Halen and Roth were back on board for just two songs. Oddly enough, Roth also had hopes of returning to the band…
After all, Gary Cherone became the new vocalist of the band. The long-awaited Van Halen III was finally launched in March 1998. However, the reactions of the album were contrary to what was expected. It was the worst-selling album of Van Halen’s long career!
Upon this, Cherone was removed from Van Halen in 1999. Rumors about Roth’s return swirled once more. David Lee Roth said in a statement he made on his website that he had recorded several new songs with the band but had not heard from them since the previous album.
Just a few days after Roth’s news, Eddie Van Halen publicly announced that he was fighting cancer!
His loved ones were upset and afraid of losing him. But on one side, they were filled with endless confidence. Undoubtedly, Eddie would get through this…
Eddie had cancer of the mouth and tongue. Doctors said he was from smoking, but he strongly denied it. According to him, his illness was caused by a metal puck in his mouth held for 12-14 hours a day.
Eddie Van Halen, whose mental structure was impaired due to health reasons, became a very incompatible person as a result of this. This situation even caused him to divorce with his wife.
Fortunately, this difficult process ended with Eddie’s positive responses to different treatment methods. Eddie had recovered from cancer. However, he continued to smoke despite everything…
Eddie Van Halen is one of the few solo guitarists in the world who has won the love and admiration of many people, and even the famous musician Ritchie Blackmore portrayed himself with admiration and raised the bar.