{"id":83017,"date":"2020-10-11T15:42:53","date_gmt":"2020-10-11T20:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themetalden.com\/?p=83017"},"modified":"2021-10-11T16:17:26","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T21:17:26","slug":"tmds-tribute-to-eddie-van-halen-the-great-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themetalden.com\/tmds-tribute-to-eddie-van-halen-the-great-one\/","title":{"rendered":"TMD’s Tribute To Eddie Van Halen: The Great One!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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TMD’s Tribute To Eddie Van Halen: The Great One!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Randy “Rocket” Cody<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If it’s not the Fab four of VH, fuggedaboutit.” – Anonymous rock fan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late VAN HALEN<\/strong> guitarist, Edward Van Halen<\/strong> or “Eddie” <\/strong>as most called him, was truly one of a kind. I don’t think there has ever been anyone who changed the landscape of hard rock music as dramatically as him. He undoubtedly goes down as one of the greatest musicians of all time. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No other guitarist influenced more kids to pick up a guitar and play.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I remember first hearing Eddie’s most famous guitar solo titled “Eruption”<\/strong> over at my friend’s house and feeling like my ears just got melted off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, it was like God opened up his heart through Eddie’s fingers on the frets. He moved his fingers totally lightning fast and with perfect precision to hit the notes just right, unlike anything I had ever seen before or since, to be honest. Needless to say, I became one of VAN HALEN<\/strong>‘s biggest fans as a young boy growing up in Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a famous name in rock one day myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me, and all of my buddies, totally idolized Eddie Van Halen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rocket and friend, both only 11, performing at Walgrove Elementary Talent show in 1981. We did lip sync of Van Halen’s electrifying version of “You Really Got Me”<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Believe it or not, Eddie never dreamed of becoming a famous guitar hero<\/strong>. Not only was he the best… but he was very humble about how good he was. That being said, music was in Eddie’s blood<\/em>. His dad was a musician too. His parents names are Jan Van Halen <\/strong>and Eugenia Van Halen<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eddie was born on January 26, 1955 in Nijmegan, Netherlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After coming to America with is family, Eddie developed a passion to become a great guitar player, and he began to win music contests as a young man, despite the fact that he never actually learned how to read music.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To standout against the other players in the field, Eddie designed his own guitar and called it “Frankenstein.”<\/strong> <\/strong>It does not get more metal than that!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“If you want to be a rock star or just be famous, then run down the street naked, you’ll make the news or something. But if you want music to be your livelihood, then play, play, play and play! And eventually you’ll get to where you want to be.” <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

– Eddie Van Halen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Edward Van Halen: The greatest guitarist who ever lived. End of story.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Eddie and his brother, Alex Van Halen,<\/em><\/strong> formed the band VAN HALEN<\/strong> in 1972. Joining up with vocalist David Lee Roth<\/strong> AKA “Diamond Dave”<\/strong> and bassist Michael Anthony<\/strong> the band quickly established themselves as the ultimate California party band, jamming gigs in backyards and at the hottest clubs, mainly located in Pasadena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite having the likes of Randy Rhoads<\/strong> to compete with during the early eighties in Los Angeles, in my opinion, Eddie broke more ground overall as a guitar player, and was by far more commercially successful than any other electric guitarist who first rose to prominence in the early days of Heavy Metal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eddie’s band VAN HALEN<\/strong> performed at the US Festival in 1983 on “Heavy Metal Day.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eddie would go on to compose a movie soundtrack for the film “The Wild Life” <\/strong>in 1984, and he also recorded with the King of Pop: Michael Jackson<\/strong>. According to the RIAA, VAN HALEN<\/strong> is the 19th best-selling music group\/artist of all time with sales of 56 million albums<\/strong> in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beyond those extremely impressive numbers and accomplishments, I feel VAN HALEN<\/strong> did many things to get in the conversation for the greatest rock n roll band ever, including being one of only five rock acts in history to have had two albums<\/strong> (Van Halen and 1984) which sold more than ten million copies in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“When kids ask me how it feels to be a rock star, I say leave me alone, I’m not a rock star. I’m not in it for the fame, I’m in it because I like to play.” <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

– Eddie Van Halen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=r3E_m7IhSfY\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I recently was interviewed on FM Rock Radio station WQEE 99.1<\/strong> in Atlanta, Georgia, and I shared some amazing details about Eddie’s life. Listen to the audio via the player down below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nListen to “RyanORadio- RNS Mornings with Ryan O Neal” on Spreaker.<\/a>