Legendary guitarist and innovator Eddie Van Halen died Oct. 6 at the age of 65 from an ongoing battle with cancer.
The classic rock band Van Halen, co-founded by Eddie Van Halen in Pasadena, Calif. in 1972, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. “Inductee Eddie Van Halen forever changed the vocabulary of the electric guitar,” the site said. “With blistering speed, control, and melodic feel, he perfected the art of shredding, unleashing two-handed finger tapping, dramatic whammy-bar moves, and other astonishing never-before-seen techniques.”
Van Halen’s son from his first marriage with Valerie Bertinelli, Wolfgang Van Halen, posted a public statement on Twitter that confirmed his father’s passing. “He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift,” wrote Wolfgang, adding that he doesn’t think he will ever fully recover from the loss.
Van Halen’s fans, family and friends poured out their condolences for the trailblazing artist. Some comments were from prominent Rock and Roll artists such as Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, original lead singer for Van Halen David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar (later lead singer for Van Halen), Guns N' Roses' guitarist Slash and Motley Crue’s bassist Nikki Sixx.
Chair of Studio Guitar at USC’s Division of Contemporary Music and longtime fan of Eddie Van Halen, Professor Nick Stoubis has played guitar for about 36 years. He was shocked by Van Halen’s sudden death.
“It caught me by surprise,” Stoubis said. "I knew that he had been suffering lately and I spent the whole evening listening to music and reviewing past recordings and just kind of thinking of my experience.”
Stoubis also reminisced about the time he had the opportunity to see Van Halen in concert.
“I grew up in a small town where you couldn’t just go out and see your favorite artist because they didn’t travel through where I was living. So the first time I ever saw it was pretty amazing,” Stoubis said.
Sounds created by Van Halen were beyond Stoubis' imagination, but this encouraged him to continue to learn guitar and try to emulate Eddie’s techniques through a VHS tape he watched repeatedly.
“Every generation will have an artist that speaks to them and kind of reacts to that moment,” said Stoubis. “Eddie Van Halen in his time took what happened before him. And he pushed the boundaries. He wasn’t trying to just recreate the past.”
Van Halen not only heavily influenced the genre of rock, but he was also a frequent collaborator with popular artists from different music styles. The most well-known collaboration Van Halen partook in was “Beat It” with the late Michael Jackson, where he recorded two impressive guitar solos in addition to rearranging the song to Jackson’s liking. Van Halen told CNN that Jackson turned to him in the studio and said, “Wow, thank you so much for having the passion to not just come in and blaze a solo, but to actually care about the song, and make it better.”
Although Van Halen was most prominent throughout the 1980s, his approach and innovations to music still hold true today. He currently holds a U.S. patent for a device that assisted him and his distinct guitar tapping method of playing. Stoubis shared that Van Halen was so innovative that it shaped the “development of the guitar and how it changed through the 80s, the sound of amplifiers and how modern amplifiers work.”
This special influence is not only unique to Stoubis and those who personally knew Eddie.
“There are countless guitar players that were influenced by him and the innovation is something that is unique to him,” Stoubis said. “[Eddie Van Halen] didn’t just go into what everyone else was doing. They kind of continued with what they felt passionate about. And then they were commercially very successful. Their first album is in excess of 10 times platinum.” Stoubis highlighted this excitement “brought on a new generation of listeners to rock music.”
Alexis Attard, a sophomore majoring in computer science, said listening to Van Halen’s music was a memorable part of growing up.
“It’s kind of like a piece of my childhood died,” Attard said. “My mom is a really big fan of rock music and she would always play Van Halen and Boston every time we would be in the car.”
Attard, who learned of Van Halen’s death from Twitter, said that she noticed those who reacted to his passing were mostly from older generations.
“There wasn’t a lot of engagement on social media about his death, especially from Gen Z,” Attard said.
Attard said that Van Halen’s music is notably absent from nostalgia compilations on apps like TikTok. She also noticed that reactions to his death were limited on the app despite past tributes for the deaths of other celebrities.
Attard added that she has also seen contemporary pop musicians take from the style and musical influence of Van Halen and other classic rock bands.
“We see Harry Styles rebrand himself with this sort of rock Mick Jagger look and sound and I feel like he definitely takes inspiration from Van Halen,” Attard said.
Jared Khan, a junior majoring in quantitative biology, said Van Halen’s unique style of guitar playing influenced him when he was first learning to play. Khan, like Attard, grew up listening to his music with his parents and strongly associates Van Halen with his childhood.
“I started playing guitar when I was pretty little and so listening to him when I was just starting off was really cool, because I could see all this crazy stuff he’s doing,” Khan said. “I really admire how he invented his own sound and was very true to himself.”
He said that starting out, Van Halen’s music was too difficult to master on the guitar, but recently he picked up his songs to develop new skills.
“It’s definitely an interesting way to learn guitar by playing songs from different musicians that have a unique sound. I definitely learned a lot about techniques and what could be possible by channeling his songs,” Khan said.