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Eddie Van Halen Dies at 65!
- Thread starter DeepIn2U
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Yep, I've noticed that some of the songs I like best among "chart topper" artists -- from either today or back to the 60s-- often turn out to be the ones that some people disparage for being out of character for the band, or b-side-worthy throwbacks to a less popular album in the past.
But you know that Zara jacket that made headlines back when FLOTUS sported it? Well that's pretty much how I figure it with music. Everyone is free to disregard other people's choices of tracks, performers, producers and so forth.
We're all at least a little spoiled now anyway... some great-great aunts of mine used to discuss live performances of music they had attended way back in the years after WW I, in touring recitals that were rare enough to warrant saving the paper programs "forever" and reminiscing about them decades later... even if by then right there in my grandparents' living room were 78rpm recordings of better performances.
But I'm also aware that siblings of mine still talk with reverence about certain songs they heard performed by early rock and roll artists at the time those songs were written. Meanwhile coming late to that plate, I've discovered covers or revisited takes by the original artists that I much prefer.
Now I use AM or Spotify to download a shed load of this or that opera or concerto and then take my time deciding which CDs to buy. So it's all about personal preference in the end, from among whatever music we can access.
Eddie Van Halen was certainly the greatest guitarist of *my* generation. A talent to rival that of Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Django Reinhart.
Eddie's greatest contribution was that of of double-hand tapping. A technique whereby the fingertips (of both hands) were used to tap and pull-off notes to create sounds that are simply unobtainable by normal guitar picking or fingering. When Van Halen's first albums were first released people (and by this I mean very accomplished rock guitarists) had no idea how he had managed to make the sounds that he did.
How to do Eddie Van Halen tapping
Van Halen's techniques eventually became part of the rock and metal guitarist's repertoire. But Eddy was the guy who brought them into the mainstream. And he left us with an incredible, and deeply satisfying, catalog of great songs to remember him by.
Rock on, Eddie Van Halen! A great by any measure.
Eddie's greatest contribution was that of of double-hand tapping. A technique whereby the fingertips (of both hands) were used to tap and pull-off notes to create sounds that are simply unobtainable by normal guitar picking or fingering. When Van Halen's first albums were first released people (and by this I mean very accomplished rock guitarists) had no idea how he had managed to make the sounds that he did.
How to do Eddie Van Halen tapping
Van Halen's techniques eventually became part of the rock and metal guitarist's repertoire. But Eddy was the guy who brought them into the mainstream. And he left us with an incredible, and deeply satisfying, catalog of great songs to remember him by.
Rock on, Eddie Van Halen! A great by any measure.
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Disappointing that Apple doesn’t have any memorial for him on the iTunes Store (which if I recall correctly they usually do when a major figure from music passes) despite that Van Halen songs/records/videos are topping their charts right now.
In my book there are only 2 guitar players that fundamentally changed how the electric guitar sounds and the way it’s played - Hendrix and Van Halen.
In my book there are only 2 guitar players that fundamentally changed how the electric guitar sounds and the way it’s played - Hendrix and Van Halen.
Just came across this. Makes me dislike David Crosby even more than I already did. There were plenty of great and influential guitar players besides Hendrix.