Eddie Van Halen, the legendary guitar innovator and virtuoso who led Van Halen through five decades and three lead singers, establishing himself as one of the all-time great players in rock history, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 65.
The rocker’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, confirmed the death of his father Tuesday afternoon with a tweet, saying that Van Halen had “lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning.”
Wolfgang mourned his father online, writing … “He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.” He added, “I love you so much, Pop.”
Eddie Van Halen was dogged by personal and health issues that would intermittently interfere with his work in music over the course of the next decade.
A chronic joint problem, exacerbated by his reckless onstage style, forced him to undergo hip replacement surgery in 1999. The onset of cancer — likely the result of heavy smoking — led to the surgical removal of part of his tongue in 2000.
Eddie Van Halen was an immigrant kid who emerged from Pasadena with an ear for hard-rock hooks and wild guitar flash in the Jimi Hendrix tradition.
Van Halen was the guitarist, main songwriter and founder of the influential Los Angeles hard-rock band Van Halen, which also included his brother Alex on the drums, bassist Mark Stone and charismatic frontman David Lee Roth.
His speed and innovations along the fretboard inspired a generation of imitators, as the band bearing his name rose to MTV stardom and multiplatinum sales over 10 consecutive albums.
Van Halen is among the top 20 best-selling artists of all time, Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen at No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.
Van Halen released albums on a yearly timetable – “Van Halen II” (1979), “Women and Children First” (1980), “Fair Warning” (1981) and “Diver Down” (1982) – until the monumental “1984,” which hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album charts (only behind Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”). Rolling Stone ranked “1984” No. 81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s.
As news of Van Halen’s death broke, his friends and fellow musicians paid tribute to the one-of-a-kind talent.
Gene Simmons of KISS wrote on Twitter: “Eddie was not only a Guitar God but a genuinely beautiful soul.”
Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath called Van Halen “one of the nicest, down to Earthmen I have ever met and toured with.”
“A true gent and true genius,” he wrote on Twitter.
On Facebook, Ted Nugent said: “Thank you, Eddie, for vitalizing enriching and stimulating our lives with your brilliance gifts and vision. Jam on my friend. Jam on.”