Original Van Halen singer David Lee Roth tweeted, along with a black a photo of both him and Eddie Van Halen, “What a Long Great Trip It’s Been..”
Original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony wrote on his Instagram account, where he also posted photos, “No words…Heartbroken, my love to the family.”
Eddie’s first wife, and mother to his only child, Wolfgang, actress Valerie Bertinelli shared, “40 years ago my life changed forever when I met you. You gave me the one true light of my life, our son, Wolfgang, Through all your challenging treatments for lung cancer, you kept your gorgeous spirit and impish grin, I am so grateful Wolfie and I were able to hold you in last moments. I will see you in our next life my love.”
KISS bassist Gene Simmons posted a heartfelt video, here.
AC/DC guitarist Angus Young tweeted, “Eddie was a guitar wonder, his playing pure wizardry. To the world of music he was a special gift. To those of us fortunate enough to have met him, a very special person. He leaves a big hole in a lot of hearts. To the Van Halen family my heartfelt sympathies.”
Ozzy Osbourne posted, “Eddie Van Halen was one of the nicest guys I ever worked with and we shared so many laughs together. His influence on music and especially the guitar has been immeasurable. He was an absolute legend. Eddie, I’ll see you on the other side, my friend.”
Guitarist Adrian Vandenberg, like Van Halen, also of Dutch origin, posted at his Instagram, “As everybody will have heard or read by now Eddie (Edward) Van Halen passed away yesterday. What a huge loss.. Without a doubt one of the absolute greatest and most influential musicians of all time. Millions of guitar players, in the rock field or not, have been influenced by his playing, directly or indirectly. In that respect he was the natural successor to Jimi Hendrix in my opinion, a true pioneer. There are so many elements and colors to Eddie’s playing; blues, rock, jazz and classical and that whole cocktail bounces out of the speakers, always sparkling with an incredibly dynamic expressiveness. For a player who was seen as a “rock guitarist” his playing smoothly transcended all genres, proven by Eddie’s fluid solo in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Eddie made it seem so effortless, always with that endearing, almost childish smile on his face he’d play stunning solos with an amazing, rock solid sense of timing. I’ve always felt that because of his explosive solo’s his fantastic, tasteful rhythm playing has often been overlooked. His choice and placement of chords, untwined with tasty, fluid licks are just as unique as his solos. I could go on and on..Edward Van Halen has a more than well deserved top spot in music history among the all time greats and leaves behind a timeless body of work as a musician, composer and performer. One of a kind.
R.I.P. Eddie, you’ll never be forgotten..
9 Responses
As Dave says in “Could This Be Magic?” – Edward, thank you!
Doug – I thought you were quoting the original head banger, the one the only Mr. Barry Manilow 🙂
Sadly this will be only the beginning..70s metal stars are now closing in or over 70 . Don’t have to name anyone, even the non metal guys too like the rolling stones ( except keith richards for some reason ), ..the next 5 yrs or so will be devastating..hell, now the hair metal guys are mid 50s… so if they tour go because you never know whats next…im in howard beach queens, 2 minutes from the racino., i seen eddie money a yr or so before he was sick..even seen for 15.00 A ticket for tony Orlando, and tickets at 10.00 little Anthony and the imperials, and 2 were original members!!!..so if kiss ever get back out or Ozzy , or even rod stewart , go.because we dont know when its the final act, but its closing fast …….
I think Keith Richards has a pair of iron lungs! God bless him!
Tom, thanks for the reminders. Yep, we seem to be losing the rock stars of our era and they can never be replaced.
As Paul Westerberg from the Replacements sang…..A good day is any day that you’re alive.
try and imagine popular music without him….and you can’t…his music was and still is in everything.
I thought the same thing yesterday. Losing all these great influences will be tough. Enjoy them while & when we can. I missed out on David Bowie and wish I’d seen him among others.
Eddie was a kick-ass force. Not as shocked by his passing as I was Neil Pearts. Perhaps that’s cause the general public didn’t know about Neil’s health. Tough year. /mm\
Tasker,
That is why I was glad I saw McCartney twice. Yes, he is much older, and his voice is not what it was, and I liked the Brooklyn show over the Boston one, but glad I went twice that tour.
D