Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen (born January 26, 1955) is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the
hard rockHard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band
Van HalenVan Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
. Eddie Van Halen is commonly known for his innovative performing and recording styles in blues-based rock,
tappingTapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
, intense solos and high frequency feedback; he is also known for energetic and acrobatic stage performances.
The All Music Guide has described him as "Second to only
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
...undoubtedly one of the most influential, original, and talented rock guitarists of the 20th century.". He is ranked 8th on the Rolling Stone list of Top 100 guitarists.
Early life and career
Born in
Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Edward Lodewijk van Halen is a son of clarinetist, saxophonist and pianist father Jan van Halen and mother Eugenia. Eugenia van Halen was originally from Indonesia which was a former Dutch colony. Eugenia was half Dutch and half Indonesian. Edward's middle name was derived from composer
Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
. (Lodewijk is the Dutch version of Ludwig.) Edward continued this naming tradition by naming his son
Wolfgang Van HalenWolfgang William Van Halen , is an American musician. He is the current bassist for Van Halen, replacing Michael Anthony in 2006.-Personal life:...
after composer
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
. In February 1962, at the age of seven, Edward moved with his family to the United States, settling in
Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
Van Halen learned to play the piano as a child. His older brother
AlexAlexander Arthur "Alex" Van Halen is a Dutch-born American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Originally, his brother Eddie had taken lessons for drums, while Alex practiced guitar...
also played the piano. However, playing the piano did not prove to be challenging or interesting to him — he once said in an interview, "Fuck the piano, man! I don’t want to sit down. I want to stand up and get crazy!" Consequently, while Alex began playing the guitar, Eddie bought a drum kit and began practicing. He would practice for hours day after day. After Eddie heard Alex's performance of the
The SurfarisThe Surfaris were an American surf rock band formed in Glendora, California in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles, California area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" on the A-side and "Wipe Out" on the B-side of a 45 RPM single.-Career:The original...
'
drum soloA drum solo is an instrumental solo played on a drum kit. A drum solo may be set or improvised, and of any length, up to being the main performance....
in the song "
Wipe Out"Wipe Out" is a Twelve-bar blues written by Bob Berryhill, Pat Connolly, Jim Fuller and Ron Wilson. The tune was first performed and recorded by The Surfaris, who were elevated to international status with the release of the "Surfer Joe" and "Wipe Out" single in 1963.The song – both the Surfaris'...
", he grew annoyed that his brother had overtaken his ability and decided to switch and begin learning how to play the
electric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
.
He has stated that he would often walk around at home with his guitar strapped on and unplugged, practicing. He claims that he would sit in his room for hours with the door locked as a teen, practicing the guitar.
Van Halen notes the importance of supergroup
CreamCream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
, holding their improvisation in high regard, considering 'I'm so Glad' on 'Goodbye Cream' to be mind-blowing. He once claimed that he had learned almost all of
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
's solos in the band
CreamCream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
"note for note". Eddie has stated: "I've always said Eric Clapton was my main influence, but [Jimmy]
PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
was actually more the way I am, in a reckless-abandon kind of way."
Formation of Van Halen
Van Halen, originally called "Genesis" with bass player Mark Stone, changed their name to "Mammoth" when they discovered there was already a band (from England) with the name "
GenesisGenesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
". The band consisted of Eddie Van Halen on guitar and vocals, his brother, Alex on drums, and bassist Mark Stone. They had no
P.A. systemA public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
of their own, so they rented one from
David Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
— a service for which he charged $10 a night. Eddie quickly became frustrated singing lead vocals, and decided they could save money by letting Roth into the band., Michael Anthony replaced Mark Stone on bass. They opted to change the name of the band because David Lee Roth suggested that the last name of the two brothers "sounded cool."
At one point the group considered calling themselves 'Rat Salade', before deciding on Van Halen.
The band originally began playing cover material, ranging from pop to
discoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, before settling on original material.
In 1976
Rodney BingenheimerRodney Bingenheimer, born December 15, 1947, is a radio disc jockey on the long-running Los Angeles rock station KROQ who is notable for helping numerous iconic bands become successful in the American market. His contribution to the music business has been described as important...
took
Gene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
to see one of Van Halen's shows. Gene Simmons then produced a Van Halen demo tape with recording beginning at the
Village RecorderThe Village is a famous recording studio in Los Angeles, California.Since the 1960s, The Village has been the home to recordings by artists such as Aerosmith, The Allman Brothers, The Beach Boys, Mariah Carey, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper, Elvis Costello, The Doors, Bob...
studios in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and finished with overdubs at the
Electric Lady StudiosElectric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In mid 1977, Van Halen was offered a
recording contractA recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with
Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. After recording a set of demos, they recorded their first album "Van Halen" in mid September to early October 1977, which was released on February 10, 1978.
Tension with David Lee Roth
Van Halen released a total of six albums with vocalist David Lee Roth:
Van HalenVan Halen is the debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released in February 1978.- History :Recorded in 1977, Van Halen sold over 10 million copies in the US alone, becoming one of the most successful debuts by a rock band. Along with 1984, it gives Van Halen two original albums with...
(1978),
Van Halen II-Personnel:*David Lee Roth - lead vocals*Eddie Van Halen - electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals*Michael Anthony - bass guitar, backing vocals*Alex Van Halen - drums-Production:*Producer: Ted Templeman...
(1979),
Women and Children First (1980),
Fair WarningFair Warning is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. Released in 1981, it sold more than two million copies, but was still the band's slowest-selling album of the David Lee Roth era...
(1981),
Diver DownDiver Down is the fifth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1982. It spent 65 weeks on the US album charts and had, by 1998, sold four million copies in the US.-Background:...
(1982), and
19841984 is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. One of the band's more popular albums , 1984 is to date the final album featuring singer David Lee Roth before he left the band in the spring of the following year.-Background and recording:Eddie Van Halen,...
(1984); however, the band had trouble working together as a cohesive unit; according to
Gene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
' book
Kiss and Make-Up, Eddie Van Halen approached Simmons in 1982 about possibly joining
KissKiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, replacing
Ace FrehleyPaul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
. According to Simmons, Eddie did so chiefly due to his personality conflicts with Roth.
Simmons and Alex persuaded Eddie to remain in Van Halen, while Kiss decided to replace Frehley with
Vinnie VincentVincent John Cusano, better known as Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist from Bridgeport, Connecticut and songwriter known for his brief membership in the band Kiss.-Replacing Ace Frehley in Kiss:...
, and shortly afterwards the band released the album
1984; which yielded the band's first #1 hit, "
Jump"Jump" is a song by the American rock group Van Halen. It is the only single the group released in their career to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was released in 1984 as the second track on the album 1984...
". Other singles released from the album also sold well, particularly "
Hot for Teacher"Hot for Teacher" is a song on Van Halen's album 1984.The sexually suggestive song was best known for its long opening drum solo, near motorcycle-like drum fills and its music video featuring the band as both adults and young students in a high school...
", the video for which featured a skimpily dressed model playing the part of a female elementary school teacher and school-age boys portraying younger versions of the band members. The album peaked at #2 on the
Billboard chartsThe Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
, behind
ThrillerThriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
by
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, on which Eddie also played.
Jimmy Page said at the time: "For my money, Eddie Van Halen was the first significant new kid on the block. Very dazzling".
In 1982 Eddie was invited by producer
Quincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
to contribute the guitar solo for Michael Jackson's new recording for
ThrillerThriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
, "
Beat It"Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones . It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Eddie Van Halen was hired to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his...
". Van Halen improvised and integrated for the recording the familiar Van Halen-styled guitar solo bridge in the new song. Part of rock lore, credit for his work on the noteworthy track would be sufficient and Van Halen declined the payment he was offered for his performance.
Addition of Sammy Hagar
With the arrival of former
MontroseMontrose was a California-based hard rock band. The band originally featured Ronnie Montrose on guitar and future solo artist and former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar...
singer
Sammy HagarSam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
in July 1985, the band's sound changed somewhat to adapt to the strengths of the new vocalist, as Eddie's keyboard playing became a permanent fixture, heard in songs such as "
Dreams"Dreams" is a song by Van Halen released in 1986 from the album 5150. It was the second single from that album, and it reached #22 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year...
" and "
Love Walks In"Love Walks In" is a rock song written by the group Van Halen for their 1986 album 5150. It is one of the five singles issued for the album. The song starts with Eddie Van Halen playing a slow synth and kicks into the song. The song starts in the key of C and for the verse moves into what sounds...
". Even on the more rocking, guitar-driven songs, Eddie's performances became looser, less aggressive, and some said more thoughtful, while others said more commercial. The change in sound and pace prompted many fans, both positively and negatively, to refer to the band as "Van Hagar." However, tensions within the band again arose over identity and artist direction, and Hagar, like Roth earlier, departed in June 1996. Hagar left behind him a portfolio of 4 studio albums with the band (
51505150 is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1986 through Warner Bros. Records. The album was the first to be recorded with new lead singer Sammy Hagar who replaced David Lee Roth....
, OU812OU812 is the 8th studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1988. The album title is allegedly a joke on Van Halen's previous lead singer David Lee Roth's 1986 album Eat 'Em and Smile . However, "OU812" was also seen in the 70s sitcom Taxi written on a wall...
, For Unlawful Carnal KnowledgeFor Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1991 through Warner Bros. Records. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and maintained the position for three weeks...
, and
BalanceBalance is the 10th studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1995 and, to date, is the fourth and final Van Halen album of all-new material featuring lead singer Sammy Hagar. It was also a more complete divergence from their earlier, more heavy metal sound...
) as well as one live album (
Live: Right Here, Right NowLive: Right Here, Right Now. is a live album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1993. It is their only live album released to date.-History:...
).
Even though some fans of the original Van halen were upset over both the separation of Roth and the hiring of Hagar, the band achieved something never attained by the original line-up, a #1 record. With Hagar, all four studio releases reached #1 on the Billboard charts. "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" also earned the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal. And their live album Live: Right Here, Right Now peaked at #5.
Career after Hagar's departure
Following Hagar's departure, the group briefly reunited with original singer
David Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
and released
Best of Volume IBest of Volume I is the first compilation of studio tracks by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1996.In addition to material from nine of the band's first ten studio albums , Best of Volume I also features the band's contribution to the Twister soundtrack and two newly recorded songs...
, a greatest hits package, in October 1996. Two new songs were recorded for the album, with the single "
Me Wise Magic"Me Wise Magic" is a song by Van Halen that first appeared on the compilation album Best of Volume I. It was recorded in 1996 during the band's brief reunion with original vocalist David Lee Roth along with another new track, "Can't Get This Stuff No More". The song reached #1 on the Mainstream...
" reaching #1 on the
mainstream rockMainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...
chart ("Can't Get This Stuff No More" was the other new single). However, previous disagreements resurfaced and the reunion did not last, as Roth left in September 1996, after the MTV Video Music Awards.
Addition of Gary Cherone
The band auditioned many prospective replacements for Hagar, finally settling on
Gary CheroneGary Francis Caine Cherone is an American rock singer-songwriter. He is best known for his work with the rock group Extreme, as well as his short stint as the lead singer for Van Halen on their 11th album Van Halen III and subsequent tour. In recent years he has released solo recordings. In 2007,...
, former front man for
ExtremeExtreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Among some of Extreme's musical influences are Queen and Van Halen...
, a band also represented by Van Halen's manager. Cherone predicted that the new line-up would last 'ten years', however the
Van Halen IIIVan Halen III is the band's 11th album and was the last studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. It is the only Van Halen album to feature Gary Cherone on lead vocals...
album was poorly received.. The band completed a world tour touting their new single "Without You" and did go back in the studio to start on a second record. However, Cherone soon had an amicable departure, and without a lead singer, Van Halen went on hiatus.
Reunion with Hagar
In 2004, Van Halen returned with Hagar as their lead singer. A greatest hits package,
The Best of Both WorldsThe Best of Both Worlds is a greatest hits album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 2004. The title references both their song of the same name, and the fact that the album has songs from their two main vocalists David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar...
, was released to coincide with the band's reunion tour. The album included three new tracks recorded with Hagar ("Up For Breakfast", "It's About Time", & "Learning to See").
The band toured the U.S., covering 80 cities. The tour earned $55 million.
Reunion with Roth
On February 2, 2007, it was officially announced on the band's website that
David Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
would rejoin Van Halen for their summer tour. The excitement regarding the tour waned when on February 20, 2007, reports surfaced that the tour was indefinitely postponed. A previously planned compilation of Roth era Van Halen hits was likewise shelved. However, after six months and a stint in rehabilitation for Eddie, it was finally confirmed by the band on August 13 at a press conference in Los Angeles that they would do a tour with the new lineup from late 2007-mid 2008 across North America, with further worldwide touring and a new album proposed to follow later on.
Persistent rumors had long indicated the Van Halen brothers were in talks with Roth to rejoin the band for a tour and/or new material.
Van Halen's then 15-year old son
WolfgangWolfgang William Van Halen , is an American musician. He is the current bassist for Van Halen, replacing Michael Anthony in 2006.-Personal life:...
was to play bass in Van Halen in the fall (replacing Michael Anthony), Van Halen claimed his son's presence would have a positive effect on the band.
1999 onwards
Suffering from lingering injuries from past high-risk acrobatic stage antics and crashes, Eddie Van Halen underwent hip replacement surgery in November 1999, after his chronic
avascular necrosisAvascular necrosis is a disease where there is cellular death of bone components due to interruption of the blood supply. Without blood, the bone tissue dies and the bone collapses...
, which he was diagnosed with in 1995, became unbearable.
In April 2001, Eddie confirmed that since May 2000, that he had been undergoing treatment for tongue cancer. The subsequent surgery removed roughly a third of his tongue. He would be declared cancer-free in May 2002.
Since the 2004 tour, Eddie Van Halen has largely disappeared from the public eye, with the exception of occasional appearances such as the 14th annual
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
Academy Awards party, and a performance at a
Kenny ChesneyKenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...
concert.
In December 2004, Eddie attended
"Dimebag" Darrell Lance AbbottDarrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...
's funeral, and donated the black and yellow guitar featured on the
Van Halen II album inlay, stating that it was always a favorite of Dimebag's. The guitar was put in Darrell's
Kiss KasketThe Kiss Kasket is an item of merchandise licensed by the rock band Kiss. It is an actual coffin, decorated with a Kiss logo and pictures of the band members. In introducing the Kiss Kasket, Simmons quipped, "I love livin', but this makes the alternative look pretty damn good." The Kiss Kasket...
, and he was buried with it.
On December 5, 2005, Eddie's wife,
Valerie BertinelliValerie Anne Bertinelli is an American actress, best known for her roles as Barbara Cooper Royer on the television series One Day at a Time , Gloria on the television series Touched by an Angel and Melanie Moretti on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland .- Early years :Bertinelli was born in Wilmington,...
, filed for divorce in Los Angeles
Superior CourtIn common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
, after four years of separation.
On March 8, 2007, Van Halen announced on the official band website that Eddie was entering rehabilitation for unspecified reasons. However, both
Sammy HagarSam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
and Michael Anthony have made statements indicating that Ed's personality had changed due to alcohol abuse.
Van Halen emerged from rehabilitation and appeared publicly as an honorary official during the April 21, 2007
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
event at Phoenix International Raceway. He also unveiled a new Fender Stratocaster with a paint-job made for the NASCAR races before the ceremony.
In 2007, Eddie was honored in the
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version of
Guitar Hero IIGuitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero...
. A player receives the "Eddie Van Halen" achievement for hitting 500 or more notes in succession.
Van Halen toured the U.S. and Canada (Eddie, Alex, Wolfgang, and Roth) from Sept. 2007 until summer 2008. On October 6, 2008, it was reported that Eddie Van Halen proposed to his girlfriend Janie Liszewski, an actress and stuntwoman who became Van Halen's publicist in 2007. He proposed to her while vacationing in Hawaii. The two married on June 27, 2009 at his Studio City estate, with his son and ex-wife Valerie in attendance.
The rocker's brother, Alex Van Halen, officiated the ceremony, while his son served as best man.
On January 1, 2011, Eddie attended Valerie Bertinelli's wedding, along with his son Wolfgang.
In mid-January 2011, he attended the winter
NAMM ShowThe NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world, founded in 1901. It is held every January in Anaheim, California, USA, at the Anaheim Convention Center...
to present his new Wolfgang guitars, sharing the Fender booth with fellow guitar player Yngwie Malmsteen
Guitar playing technique
Eddie van Halen's approach to the guitar involves several distinctive components. Although he did not invent it, his use of two-handed
tappingTapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
, natural and artificial harmonics, vibrato, and tremolo picking, combined with his rhythmic sensibility and melodic approach, have influenced an entire generation of guitarists. The solo in "Eruption" was voted #2 on
Guitar World magazine's readers poll of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.
Tapping
The instrumental "
Eruption"Eruption" is a guitar solo written and performed by Eddie Van Halen. Eruption often appears on many 'greatest guitar solos' lists. It is often played together with "You Really Got Me", which follows the song on the album Van Halen....
" showcased a solo technique called
tappingTapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
, utilizing both left and right hands on the guitar neck.
Although Van Halen popularized tapping, he did not, despite popular belief, invent the tapping technique. The tapping technique in Blues and rock was being picked up by various guitarists in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
Duane AllmanHoward Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
,
Frank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and
Ace FrehleyPaul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
, tapped with a pick in the early 1970s.
Steve HackettStephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
used tapping to play
BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
like keyboard passages on the guitar in the early 1970s.
Larry CarltonLarry Carlton is an American jazz, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, pop, and rock guitarist and singer. He has divided his recording time between solo recordings and session appearances with various well-known bands...
also had a tapped note at the end of his solo on the song
Kid Charlemagne"Kid Charlemagne" is a song by the rock group Steely Dan, which was released as a single from their 1976 album The Royal Scam. It is notable as a fusion of a funk rhythm and jazz harmonies with rock and roll instrumentals and lyrical style, as well as a very famous guitar solo by jazz-fusion...
.
Brian MayBrian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
also used the tapping technique, which he picked up in America in the early 1970s, on songs such as
It's Late"It's Late" is a song written by Queen guitarist Brian May and performed by the band for their 1977 album News of the World. The song was May's idea of treating a song as a three-act theatrical play, and the verses are called "acts" in the lyrics sheet. It makes use of the tapping technique one...
from the
News Of The WorldNews of the World is the sixth studio album by British rock group Queen, released in 1977. Containing hit songs "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Spread Your Wings", the album went 4x platinum in the US, 2x platinum in the UK, and achieved high certifications around the world as...
album. From a January 1983 Guitar Player Brian May interview,
George LynchGeorge Lynch is a hard rock/heavy metal guitarist best known as a member of the band Dokken, his own bands Lynch Mob and Souls of We.-Pre Dokken:...
has said in an interview that he and Eddie saw
Harvey MandelCanned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
tap at the
Starwood ClubThe Starwood Night Club was a popular club in West Hollywood, California from early in 1972 to late 1981. Many punk bands and heavy metal bands started their careers playing at the Starwood....
in the 1970s. From a March 2009 Metal Den George Lynch interview,
Early Van Halen stage photographs, and demo and bootleg recordings from 1976 and before, do not indicate Eddie using any tapping techniques. Eddie's comments about how he came across the tapping technique vary from interview to interview.
This is one interview excerpt,
Eddie also employs
tapping harmonicsTap harmonic is a technique used with fretted string instruments, . It is executed by tapping on the actual fret wire most commonly at the 12th fret, but also can be executed by tapping any of the fret wires with proper technique. It can also be done by gently touching the string over the fret wire...
. He holds the pick between his thumb and
middle fingerThe middle finger or long finger is the third digit of the human hand, located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is usually the longest finger...
, which leaves his index finger free for tapping and also makes for easy transitions between picking and tapping.
In support of his two-handed tapping techniques, Van Halen also holds a patent for a flip-out support device which attaches to the rear of the electric guitar. This device enables the user to play the guitar in a manner similar to the piano by orienting the face of the guitar upward instead of forward.
Tone
Van Halen (a self described "tone chaser") achieved his distinctive tone, known as the "Brown sound", by using the EVH "
FrankenstratFrankenstrat is a guitar created by Eddie Van Halen.-Overview of the Frankenstrat:The Frankenstrat represented Van Halen's attempt to combine the sound of a classic Gibson guitar with the physical attributes of a Fender. It was originally made from an ash Stratocaster body, with pickup routing that...
" guitar, a stock 100-
wattThe watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
Marshall
ampGenerally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
, a Variac (to lower the
voltageVoltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...
of the amp to change the tone) and effects such as an
EchoplexDelay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
, an
MXRMXR, also known as MXR Innovations, was a manufacturer of guitar effects units, co-founded in 1973 by Keith Barr and Terry Sherwood . MXR was based in the United States in Rochester, New York. MXR Innovations, Inc. was incorporated in 1974...
Phase 90A phaser is an audio signal processing technique used to filter a signal by creating a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum. The position of the peaks and troughs is typically modulated so that they vary over time, creating a sweeping effect...
, an MXR
FlangerFlanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...
and
EQEqualization, is the process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal. The most well known use of equalization is in sound recording and reproduction but there are many other applications in electronics and telecommunications. The circuit or equipment used...
s. Van Halen constructed his now legendary Frankenstrat guitar using a Boogie Bodies factory "2nd" body and neck (cost $50), a single vintage
GibsonThe Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
PAFP.A.F. or just PAF is the world's first humbucker guitar pickup, invented by Seth Lover in 1955 as an engineer for Gibson and began use in mass production guitars in 1956 or 1957. However Rickenbacker and Gretsch had developed humbucking pickups also...
humbuckerA humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series...
pickup sealed in molten surfboard wax done at home in a coffee can to reduce microphonic feedback, This also warped the bobbin of the pickup. a pre-CBS Fender tremolo bridge (later to be a
Floyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
bridge) and a single volume control with a knob labeled "tone". Eddie has used a variety of pickups including Gibson PAF's, 1970s Mighty Mites,
DiMarzioDiMarzio, Inc. is an United States manufacturer best known for its revolutionary direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces miscellaneous guitar accessories, such as cables, straps and hardware.DiMarzio became known for its Super Distortion model, which was the first after...
s and Ibanez Super 70s. Eddie was using Mighty Mite pickups in 1977 club photos, just prior to the recording of the first Van Halen album. Mighty Mite pickups were
OEMAn original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
pickups made by
Seymour DuncanSeymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
and were copies of
DiMarzioDiMarzio, Inc. is an United States manufacturer best known for its revolutionary direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces miscellaneous guitar accessories, such as cables, straps and hardware.DiMarzio became known for its Super Distortion model, which was the first after...
Super Distortion pickups and can be identified by their lack of bobbin holes. Seymour Duncan started advertising pickup rewinding services In late 1977/early 1978 and apparently rewound a Gibson PAF for Eddie around the early 1978 period.
The now famous single pickup, single volume knob guitar configuration was the chosen platform due to Van Halen's lack of knowledge in
electronic circuitryAn electrical network is an interconnection of electrical elements such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, transmission lines, voltage sources, current sources and switches. An electrical circuit is a special type of network, one that has a closed loop giving a return path for the current...
, primitive wire soldering skills, and his disappointment in not finding an adequate, durable bridge and neck pick-up combination on his own. Upon installing the humbucking pickup he did not know how to wire it into the guitar circuit, so he wired the simplest working circuit to get it to function.
His later guitars include various
KramerKramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Kramer produced aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock and heavy metal musicians in the 1980s; Kramer is currently a division of Gibson Guitar Corporation...
models from his period of endorsing that company (most notably the Kramer "5150", from which Kramer in its Gibson-owned days based their Kramer 1984 design, an unofficial artist signature model) and three signature models: the Ernie Ball/
Music ManMusic Man is an American guitar, and bass guitar manufacturer. It is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation.-Early years:The Music Man story began in 1971 when Forrest White and Tom Walker talked with Leo Fender about starting a company they would call Tri-Sonic, Inc...
Edward van Halen Model (Which continues as the
Ernie BallErnie Ball was an American entrepreneur, musician, and innovator, widely acclaimed as a revolutionary in the development of guitar-related products. He began as a club and local television musician and small business entrepreneur, building an international business in guitars and accessories that...
Axis), the
PeaveyPeavey Electronics Corporation is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world, headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi in the United States.- History :...
EVH Wolfgang (which has been succeeded by a similar guitar called the HP Special), and the
CharvelCharvel is a brand of guitar originally founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and then later, Glendora, California. Charvel guitars became popular in the 1980s due to their association with famous rock guitarists such as Edward Van Halen , Richie Sambora , Warren DeMartini ,...
EVH Art Series, on which Eddie does the striping before they are painted by Charvel.
In an interview he gave to
Guitar WorldGuitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
magazine in July, 1985, Van Halen states that his "brown sound" is "basically a tone, a feeling that I'm always working at ... It comes from the person." He continues, "If the person doesn't even know what that type of tone I'm talking about is, they can't really work towards it, can they?"
Tuning
Though rarely discussed, one of the most distinctive aspects of Van Halen's sound was Eddie's tuning of the guitar. Before Van Halen, most distorted, metal-oriented rock consciously avoided the use of the
major thirdIn classical music from Western culture, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions , and the major third is one of two commonly occurring thirds. It is qualified as major because it is the largest of the two: the major third spans four semitones, the minor third three...
interval in
guitar chordIn music, a guitar chord is a chord, or collection of tones usually sounded together at once, played on a guitar. It can be composed of notes played on adjacent or separate strings or all the strings together...
s, creating the signature
power chordIn music, a power chord is a chord consisting of only the root note of the chord and the fifth interval, usually played on electric guitar, and typically through an amplification process that imparts distortion...
of the genre. When run through a distorted amplifier, the rapid beating of the major third on a
conventionally tunedAn equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
guitar is distracting and somewhat
dissonantIn music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
.
Eddie tuned to "Hendrix's tuning" which is flat E, the open G and B reaches a
justly intonatedIn music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...
, beatless third. This consonant third was almost unheard of in distorted-guitar rock and allowed Van Halen to use major chords in a way that mixed classic hard rock power with "happy" pop. The effect is pronounced on songs such as "Runnin' With the Devil", "Unchained", and "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?".
With the B string flat, chords in some positions on the guitar have more justly intonated thirds, but in other positions the flat B string creates out-of-tune intervals. As Eddie once remarked to
Guitar PlayerGuitar Player is a popular magazine for guitarists founded in 1967. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print since the late 1960s and during the 1980s, under editor Tom Wheeler, the publication was...
:
Volume swells
Eddie used a volume technique in the instrumental "Cathedral". He hammered notes on the fretboard with one hand while rolling the volume knob with the other. This altered the attack and decay of the notes so they mimicked the sound of keyboards. This "volume swells" sound (also known as "violining", because of the way it sounds) was originally popularized by 1970s progressive rock bands like Genesis (Steve Hackett), Focus (Jan Akkerman), Yes and Rush but was usually performed with a volume pedal, at a slower pace. "Cathedral" also employs an electronic delay, with the delay set at 400
msA millisecond is a thousandth of a second.10 milliseconds are called a centisecond....
and the delayed note set at the same amplitude as the original note. Most of the composition's notes come from hammering on the notes of a major 5th string barre chord (ascending and then descending) and replicating this pattern up and down the neck of the guitar. The end result of this technique made the composition sound as if it is being played on a church/cathedral organ.
Guitars
Eddie van Halen built his guitar (Black and White) by hand, using an imperfect body and a neck bought from Wayne
CharvelCharvel is a brand of guitar originally founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and then later, Glendora, California. Charvel guitars became popular in the 1980s due to their association with famous rock guitarists such as Edward Van Halen , Richie Sambora , Warren DeMartini ,...
's guitar shop. The body and neck were constructed by Lynn Ellsworth of Boogie Bodies guitars, whose parts were being sold by Wayne Charvel at the time. Eddie installed a humbucker in the bridge position essentially creating a
Fat StratA Fat Strat is a name for a design of electric guitars that are based on the Fender Stratocaster, but have a humbucking pickup at the bridge position instead of a single-coil pickup...
. In 1979, Eddie began to play a black, rear loaded Charvel with yellow stripes. This was later replicated by Charvel along with the black and white striped model and the red white and black model (EVH Art Series Guitars). He also used a stock unmodified
Ibanez DestroyerThe Destroyer is an Ibanez brand electric guitar model manufactured at the FujiGen-Gakki musical instrument factory for the Hoshino-Gakki Company. The Destroyer model was first introduced by Hoshino-Gakki in 1975 and was based on the Gibson Musical Instruments' Explorer design...
on a lot of the tracks on Van Halens first album such as
You Really Got Me"You Really Got Me" is a rock song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band, The Kinks. It was released on 4th August 1964 as the group's third single, and reached Number 1 on the UK singles chart the next month, remaining for two weeks...
and
Runnin' With the Devil"Runnin' with the Devil" is a rock song and the first track from Van Halen's 1978 eponymous debut album. The song lyrics were inspired by the Ohio Players song "Runnin' from the Devil". In 2009 it was named the 9th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1....
and a modified Ibanez Destroyer nickname by Van Halen as "The Shark" on some tracks on Van Halens second album and a borrowed unmodified Ibanez Destroyer (owned by
Chris HolmesChris Holmes may refer to:* Chris Holmes , US musician and member of the band W.A.S.P.* Chris Holmes , British Paralympian* Chris Holmes, American musician and producer who toured with The Smashing Pumpkins...
from
W.A.S.P.W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the same Los Angeles scene that spawned Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Quiet Riot and others. The band's popularity peaked in the 1980s, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy...
) on some tracks on the Women and Children First album.
Also, in 1979 Eddie's original guitar was repainted with Frankenstein artwork. Eddie also changed the neck, removed part of the pick guard and eventually installed a
Floyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
vibrato unit. The guitar is known both as a "frankenstrat" and as
the "Frankenstein." Fender reissued the guitar in relic form in 2007, the limited run selling at a guitar. However, a "new" (non-reliced) Frankenstrat is currently available through the Charvel company, but has been discontinued, for significantly less, the first time Van Halen has consented to the commercial release of a guitar with his signature graphics on it.
In 1983, Eddie began to use a brand new Kramer guitar with artwork similar to its predecessor and with a hockey-stick or "banana" headstock, which came to be known as the "5150." This guitar was rear-loaded (no pick guard), had a
Floyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
vibrato unit and a neck that was later electronically mapped in order for it to be copied on the later Music Man and Peavey signature models. This guitar was last used on the track "Judgment Day" on the
For Unlawful Carnal KnowledgeFor Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1991 through Warner Bros. Records. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and maintained the position for three weeks...
album. Various versions of it can be seen in the music videos for "Panama","When It's Love" and the concert video,
Live Without a Net. The guitar itself was a variant of a Kramer Pacer, although not a model that was technically available at the time.
It was painted with Krylon paints by Van Halen and used through the OU812 tour, after which it was "retired." However, Eddie did break out the guitar for use on the 2004 reunion tour, although the neck had finally failed and had apparently been replaced. A copy of this guitar was available (although not with Van Halen's permission) through the current manufacturer of Kramer's, Music Yo, a subsidiary of the Gibson company, sadly Gibson ended the Music Yo business and Kramer is just known as a "Gibson Sister Company". However, when it was commercially available the copy didn't feature the custom graphics, as the "Frankenstein" graphics are trademarked by Edward Van Halen.
Eddie has used a Steinberger GL-2T guitar with TransTrem on several songs, including "Get Up" and "Summer Nights" (from
51505150 is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1986 through Warner Bros. Records. The album was the first to be recorded with new lead singer Sammy Hagar who replaced David Lee Roth....
). It was custom painted with the "Frankenstein" graphics. He has also used kramer and peavey model guitars fitted with the Steinberger TransTrem unit.
In the early 1990s, Ernie Ball produced an EVH signature "Music Man" guitar, and Eddie used this on
For Unlawful Carnal KnowledgeFor Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1991 through Warner Bros. Records. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and maintained the position for three weeks...
and
BalanceBalance is the 10th studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1995 and, to date, is the fourth and final Van Halen album of all-new material featuring lead singer Sammy Hagar. It was also a more complete divergence from their earlier, more heavy metal sound...
albums. This guitar is still commercially available under the "Axis" name, and retains all of the original features of the Edward Van Halen model. Although rumours abound of a personal falling-out between Edward and the Ernie Ball company's Sterling Ball, the official reason for the cessation of the commercial relationship was that Edward was upset that Ernie Ball could not produce enough of this guitar to meet demand.
Eddie named his line of Peavey signature
WolfgangThe Peavey EVH Wolfgang guitar series is the result of the collaboration between guitarist Edward Van Halen and Hartley Peavey's company, Peavey Electronics....
guitars after his son, Wolfgang. The guitar itself was similar to the previous Axis line, but with a slightly altered shape and many additional options available in Peavey's much larger custom shop. These guitars included a device called a "D-Tuna" which enabled a guitarist to tune the low E string down to D with a slight turn of a knob attached to the end of the bridge.
In 2003, at the NAMM show, the relationship between Peavey and Eddie began to strain. Peavey constructed a glass enclosed stage for Eddie in which to play for VIP's at 2 p.m. Eddie arrived late, shocking fans there with his disheveled appearance, as he immediately went upstairs and initially refused to play. After an hour of negotiations, Eddie came down while fans, who had lined up for hours prior to the appearance, roared with approval. Eddie ended up spending his short time on stage, talking about Wolfgang guitar production and his promise to take a keen interest in quality control. Eddie left, having only played a few notes and small riffs, much to the dissatisfaction of the fans and Peavey. The end came in 2004, when Peavey company parted ways with Van Halen, reportedly because Eddie launched an on-line sale of hand patterned (by Edward) Charvel guitars, sold by the name of the "EVH Art Series Guitars", while he was still contractually obligated to Peavey. The guitars sold for large sums on
eBayeBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, and were essentially replicas of his famous "Frankenstrat" guitars, played by Van Halen mainly during the David Lee Roth era of the band. Eddie also launched Frankenstein replicas as noted above, which are the only Van Halen guitars currently endorsed by Eddie.
Most recently Eddie has collaborated with Fender guitars to produce a replica of the Frankenstrat. Eddie and Chip Ellis of the Fender Custom Shop teamed up to produce a guitar priced at each. Also, Eddie has collaborated with Fender to launch his own EVH brand of guitars, amps, and musical instrument equipment, starting with his new EVH Brand 5150 III amplifier. Eddie now uses prototypes of his new EVH Brand Wolfgang, which is an updated version Eddie's Peavey Wolfgangs but with new pickups, knobs, a thinner but very elaborate quilted maple top to allow the basswood the dominant tone, providing more tonal resonance but with a balanced high sustain. Also, the new Wolfgang is equipped with an Original
Floyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
. In addition, the new guitar has a slightly altered headstock. This is because this was Ed and Hartley Peavey's original design for the headstock, which Eddie had patented without the scoop on final version of the Peavey Wolfgang. He has been seen with three new Wolfgang guitars, first a sunburst one, then a black one which he stated he liked less than the sunburst one and now he uses a white one, the best sounding one out of the three prototypes according to Ed.
The EVH Wolfgang was planned for initial sale to the public in early 2009, and is now commercially available to purchase.
In 2011 Eddie Van Halen donated his guitar, the Frankenstein 2, to the
National Museum of American HistoryThe National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
of the Smithsonian Institution.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Q-and-A-with-Eddie-Van-Halen.html
Amplifiers
Eddie's main amplifier in the early years was a 100 watt Marshall amplifier that had a 12301
serial numberA serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...
, which dates it to the 1967-1968 transitional period at Marshall when the circuit of the 100 watt Marshall 1959 changed gradually from the "Bass" circuit to the "SuperLead" circuit. Eddie's main Marshall's original circuit had a 820 ohm/0.68 uf resistor/capacitor pair on the cathode of Valve(Tube) 1 and the same on the cathode of Valve(Tube) 2. Eddie's main Marshall had a white knob installed at the back of his Marshall head, as seen in the 1978 world tour Japanese leg photos and the
Van Halen II-Personnel:*David Lee Roth - lead vocals*Eddie Van Halen - electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals*Michael Anthony - bass guitar, backing vocals*Alex Van Halen - drums-Production:*Producer: Ted Templeman...
studio photos from late 1978. Photos of Eddie's main Marshall in the 1990s show that the white knob had been removed.
For
Van Halen IVan Halen is the debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released in February 1978.- History :Recorded in 1977, Van Halen sold over 10 million copies in the US alone, becoming one of the most successful debuts by a rock band. Along with 1984, it gives Van Halen two original albums with...
, a single
CelestionCelestion is a British maker of loudspeakers.-History:The work of what would become Celestion started in Hampton Wick in 1924. Celestion Radio Company and Celestion Limited were formed in 1927, and two years later the company moved across the Thames to Kingston. The company grew rapidly, but was...
speaker cabinet was used and a
variacAn autotransformer is an electrical transformer with only one winding. The auto prefix refers to the single coil acting on itself rather than any automatic mechanism. In an autotransformer portions of the same winding act as both the primary and secondary. The winding has at least three taps where...
set to around 90 volts was also used on Eddie's main 100 watt Marshall head, mainly to lower the amplifier's volume. The volume control and all other controls on his Marshall head were set to maximum or 10. Eddie's Van Halen I recorded guitar tracks were
re-ampReamping is a process often used in multitrack recording in which a recorded signal is routed back out of the editing environment and run through external processing or reverb chamber...
ed by using the Sunset Sound studios live
reverbReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
room. The first
MontroseMontrose is the debut album by the band Montrose in 1973 which was produced by Ted Templeman.- History :After having done sessions work for various musicians including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock and Edgar Winter, this was Ronnie Montrose's first record leading his own band. It featured then...
album was recorded in this way by
Ted TemplemanTed Templeman is an American record producer.-Career:He began his career in the mid 1960s in the Santa Cruz area as a drummer in a band called The Tikis. At the suggestion of Lenny Waronker, the group decided to change their name. Harpers Bizarre was born in 1966, with Templeman switching to...
and Donn Landee who also produced and engineered the Van Halen I album. Van Halen I was recorded in Studio 1 at Sunset Sound and Van Halen II was recorded in Studio 2 at Sunset Sound.
From the mid 1980s, Eddie has used a real time re-amping or Master/Slave slaving amplifier setup that was originally designed by Bob Bradshaw and was published in the September 1986 issue of Guitar World Magazine, with the first amplifier being a
Tube AmplifierA valve amplifier or tube amplifier is a type of electronic amplifier that makes use of vacuum tubes to increase the power and/or amplitude of a signal. Low to medium power valve amplifiers for frequencies below the microwaves were largely replaced by solid state amplifiers during the 1960s and...
and the second amplifier being a H&H
MOSFETThe metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor is a transistor used for amplifying or switching electronic signals. The basic principle of this kind of transistor was first patented by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925...
solid stateSolid-state electronics are those circuits or devices built entirely from solid materials and in which the electrons, or other charge carriers, are confined entirely within the solid material...
power amplifier. Between 1993 and 2004 Eddie was sponsored by
Peavey ElectronicsPeavey Electronics Corporation is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world, headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi in the United States.- History :...
to use their
5150The Peavey 5150 is an all-tube guitar amplifier made by Peavey Electronics from 1991–present as a signature model for Edward Van Halen. Since Van Halen and Peavey parted ways in 2004, the name of the model was changed to 6505, with Van Halen taking the 5150 name for his company, EVH, to name his...
Amplifiers, which he had a part in designing. Following the ending of this relationship, Peavey renamed the amplifier as the "Peavey 6505", with slightly updated styling but original circuitry. Eddie is now sponsored by Fender and has debuted his new amp called the 5150 III. The 5150 III features three channels with their own independent controls, a four-button foot-switch and his famous striped design on the head. In 2011 there will be a inexpensive 5150 III, 60 watt, 2 speaker, combo amp and 50 watt miniature head in production.
Floyd Rose system
A crucial component of Van Halen's personal style is his use of the
Floyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
Locking Tremolo, released in 1977. Early tremolo bars allowed the guitarist to impart a vibrato to a chord or single string via movement of the bar with the picking hand, but the slackening of the strings when the bar was heavily depressed could lead to detuning. The addition of the locking bolts at the nut and
bridgeA bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air.- Explanation :...
kept the strings taut and allowed for drastic depression of the tremolo bar to create effects such as the
dive bombDive bomb is a guitar technique in which the tremolo bar is used to rapidly lower the pitch of a note, creating a sound considered to be similar to a bomb dropping. One of the most recognized pioneers of this technique is Jimi Hendrix. Other notable musicians who are widely known for using this...
. Van Halen went on to collaborate with
Floyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
on improvements to Rose's device.
Van Halen also pioneered the mainstream use of the TransTrem system on the Steinberger line of guitars on "5150", most notably on the songs "Summer Nights" and on "
Me Wise Magic"Me Wise Magic" is a song by Van Halen that first appeared on the compilation album Best of Volume I. It was recorded in 1996 during the band's brief reunion with original vocalist David Lee Roth along with another new track, "Can't Get This Stuff No More". The song reached #1 on the Mainstream...
" off of "
Best of Volume IBest of Volume I is the first compilation of studio tracks by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1996.In addition to material from nine of the band's first ten studio albums , Best of Volume I also features the band's contribution to the Twister soundtrack and two newly recorded songs...
" where the song goes through several key changes while retaining the same chord voicings. The TransTrem system allows for the effect of an instant "capo", increasing the pitch of all strings by up to a minor third or lowering the pitch by as much as a perfect fourth.
Intellectual property
Edward Van Halen is owner of . The main claim is for a supporting member on the back of a stringed instrument allowing the musician to play and/or fret the instrument in new ways.
Solo work
Eddie van Halen has appeared on several projects outside of his eponymous band.
- Eddie van Halen was invited by Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
to play guitar on the song Beat It"Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones . It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Eddie Van Halen was hired to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his...
, from Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's 1982 album, ThrillerThriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
. Steve LukatherSteve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
of TotoToto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
played the main guitar riffThe Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
and rhythm, while Eddie played an improvised guitar solo.
- In 1983, Eddie collaborated with Queen
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
guitarist Brian MayBrian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
on the Star Fleet ProjectStar Fleet Project is a project of Brian May, most famous as the guitarist from Queen, which resulted in an album with the same name. The project was released as the work of "Brian May + Friends", consisting of May, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alan Gratzer , Phil Chen , and Fred Mandel Star...
, a three-track EP consisting of a rock styled rendition of the theme to the popular animeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
children's show, a May penned track (Let Me Out), and an improvised blues track (Blues Breaker).
- In 1984, Eddie recorded several instrumentals for a movie called The Wild Life.
The Wild Life is a 1984 comedy-drama film, written by Cameron Crowe and directed by Art Linson.The movie was an indirect sequel to the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The film is only available on VHS and Laserdisc in pan and scan with stereo analog tracks. No DVD version has been released due...
Some of those recordings used ideas that showed up later in Van Halen songs such as "A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)" and "Right Now." However, only "Donut City" was included on the soundtrack album, which was released on vinyl and cassette, and never made it to CD format.
- Also in 1984, he provided the score for the 1984 television film, The Seduction of Gina.
- He played bass on Sammy Hagar's
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
1987 solo albumA solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
I Never Said GoodbyeI Never Said Goodbye is a Sammy Hagar solo album, his only solo album released while Hagar was a member of Van Halen. The album was recorded in ten days as a contractual obligation to Geffen Records as a condition of his leaving the label to join Van Halen and their record label, Warner Bros...
.
- Also in February 1987, he appeared on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
as a guest musician with G. E. SmithGeorge Edward "G. E." Smith is an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist in the band Hall & Oates and the musical director of Saturday Night Live. Smith was lead guitarist of Bob Dylan's touring band from June 7, 1988 to October 19, 1990...
and the Saturday Night Live BandThe Saturday Night Live Band is the house band of the NBC television program Saturday Night Live .-Noteworthy members:...
when Valerie Bertinelli hosted the show. About twenty seconds into the performance, G. E. Smith could be seen telling Eddie, "Go faster!" Eddie van Halen also appeared in one sketch with Valerie Bertinelli on that evening's show, which actually featured the Robert CrayRobert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
Band as its scheduled musical guest.
- In 1989 he played bass on the opening track, (Twist the Knife) from Steve Lukather's debut album, as well as giving the guitar part which was taken from an outtake from the 5150 album titled "I Want Some Action". The main riff was also later used by Eddie Van Halen in the 3 album for "Dirty Water Dog".
- In 1993, he co-wrote and played a song with Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
members, Tony Martin, Tony IommiAnthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in...
and Geezer ButlerGeezer Butler is an English musician and songwriter. Butler is best known as the bassist and lyricist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He was also involved in Heaven & Hell from 2006 to 2010.-Career:Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, with old friend John "Ozzy" Osbourne in the autumn of...
called "Evil Eye" on Cross Purposes-Personnel:*Tony Martin – vocals*Tony Iommi – guitars*Geezer Butler – bass*Geoff Nicholls – keyboards*Bobby Rondinelli – drums-References:"Evil Eye" was written by Martin, Iommi and Butler with Eddie Van Halen, but Van Halen was not credited, due to his affilliation with Warner Bros...
album, but he wasn't credited due to record company restrictions.
- He has also done soundtrack work for movies such as Over The Top (Winner Takes It All, a collaboration with Sammy Hagar), Twister (the instrumental Respect The Wind), The Wild Life (one song was reused in the movie Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
, and Lethal Weapon 4Lethal Weapon 4 is a 1998 American action film directed by Richard Donner, starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock and Jet Li. It is the third sequel in the Lethal Weapon series of films. -Plot:...
(The track Fire In The Hole from Van Halen IIIVan Halen III is the band's 11th album and was the last studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. It is the only Van Halen album to feature Gary Cherone on lead vocals...
)
- In 1998 he performed guitar solos for the Roger Waters song "Lost Boys Calling" from the film "The Legend of 1900."
- He has recorded with Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
, Jeff PorcaroJeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Porcaro was an American session drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. Porcaro was one of the most recorded drummers in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions...
, and Thomas DolbyThomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
.
- In July 2006, Eddie Van Halen recorded two new instrumental tracks (Rise and Catherine) which debuted in an unusual format: in a pornographic feature entitled "Sacred Sin" directed by a friend of the guitarist, well known adult director Michael Ninn
Michael Ninn is an adult film director and writer known for his innovative, artistic and stylized approach to adult film making. He began his career as a music video director, and made his first adult films in 1992. From 2002 through 2007, Ninn released films through his own production company,...
. These tracks have since surfaced on the internet. Eddie also composed some minor uncredited piano interludes in the feature.
- In 2009 Eddie guest-starred as himself in an episode of Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
where he played his guitar in a mens room.
- In 2010 Eddie Van Halen appeared on Lopez Tonight and gave George Lopez one of his Wolfgang Guitars.
External links