Happy 57th Birthday Eddie Van Halen!
And on this glorious day, back in 1955, the universe was graced with one Mr. Edward Van Halen. Today (Jan. 26), 57 years later, we wish the guitar god a very happy birthday and look back at his incredible music career.
Eddie, who founded the legendary Van Halen with his brother Alex back in the 70s, created one of the most bombastic rock bands of all time, bringing guitar fueled rock back to the forefront. The band's in-your-face, over the top, unapologetic approach to rock, ignited a fire that still burns bright. Now, more than three decades later, Van Halen has sealed his fate as one of the most influential guitarists of the modern era.
Many a young guitarist have picked up a six string with the hopes of one day playing like Eddie Van Halen, but few have achieved that level. Van Halen’s style, uniquely all his own, mixes several different techniques, tones and tuning styles along with a little Van Halen mojo resulting in mind-blowing fret work that only seems to get better with age.
Although Van Halen have gone through their ups and downs throughout their career, the future proves to hold some true promise with the return of David Lee Roth, a new album on the horizon and a world tour about to kick off. Van Halen’s new release, ‘‘A Different Kind of Truth,’ is due out Feb. 7 and the band will kick off their U.S. tour shortly after that on Feb. 18. The album contains a few reincarnations of older songs too, upping the ante a bit for old school VH fans. The first single, ‘Tattoo,’ was derived from an unreleased 1977 track titled ‘Down in Flames,’ and ‘She’s the Woman’ was a song originally recorded in 1976, showing the band is firmly rooted in their past while driving towards the future.
To honor the talents of Eddie Van Halen we give to you, ‘Eruption.’ Watch Eddie rip through this solo with ease, this one earned him the No. 2 slot in Guitar World’s best guitar solo of all time list.
So wish Eddie a happy birthday in the comments section below and tell us your favorite Van Halen memory. In addition, be sure to check out Ultimate Classic Rock's poll of the best Van Halen song off each album by clicking the red button below the video.
Watch Eddie Van Halen Perform His Insane 'Eruption' Solo
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