I was never a big fan of theirs. I liked mostly heavier stuff like Maiden, Sabbath, Motorhead, Anthrax, etc.

That said, I respected his abilities on the guitar. He was one of a kind. An innovator with a style all his own. Rest in Peace, Eddie.

SoFi

Truly a drag... I remember staying home from school and I was listening to the local rock radio station. They had Alex VH and David Lee Roth in the studio to talk about their concert in Phoenix that night. This was about '76 or so, so VH was a brand new group playing in small clubs. I thought they were pretty funny guys so I kept listening. Then the DJ said;"Here's some of what you'll be hearing tonight" and proceeded to play Eruption and You Really Got Me. I about pooped my pants hearing this music come out of my little radio. It sounded like it was music from another planet!! At this time we were hearing older music or something new from Eric Clapton was "Lay Down Sally". Not really a bad song, but certainly not a real "ballsy" number. I'll never forget how Van Halen sounded to me. I managed to see them about 5 or 6 times over the years. The last time was in 2012. Still listen to them out in the shop. I'm almost 60 and every time I hear VH it makes me feel 16 again.
This getting old crap sucks.....

Besides my dad and Jesus, Van Halen was my hero as a teen. After I heard Van Halen, I locked myself in my room for probably 4 hours a day for like 5 years to try to play like him. I am still devoted to the guitar and it is because of king Edward and my dad. In my book, late 70's and early 80's Van Halen was the best guitar work I've ever heard. I think Steve Lukather said it best when he said "If aliens came to the earth and our fate depended on a guitar duel, 1980 Edward Van Halen was THE guy that he would rest the fate of the world on. I hope you are in Heaven. There will never be another like you

Correction to my earlier post. It wasn't Steve Lukather, it was Alice Cooper that Eddie asked if he could get Glen Campbell to meet with him and show him some stuff on the guitar.

RIP

But I am surprised of of much David Lee Roth is left out of the discussion, in that David played a major part in the success of the Van Halen and their shared fame.

Nobody is an island in the music business, as much as they may want or be declared to be.

Mick didn't get the memo apparently.

Because DLR is a whack job and was only around for their early success. I never did see VH with Sammy, but Sammy wrote some awesome VH songs! VH might not have been around long if they didn't get Sammy...

God bless em..My wife and i are saddened to hear about his passing..

When my Dad was in his 90's he often said that the thing he hated the most was that he was outliving his friends. I don't want to insinuate that Van Halen was a friend but watching him, Tom Petty, Mac Davis, Charlie Daniels, Little Richard, Helen Reddy, Kenny Rogers, Bill Withers, and many others pass on reminds me that we are all getting old(er).

I think I'll find 'Dance the Night Away' on Youtube and play it.

It truly was out of this world. Lets not forget that it was Van Halen and Eddies' guitar work that was used as an alien encounter sequence between Marty McFly and his teenage father in the film Back To The Future.

The first time I got to see them was before they released their first album as the opening band at a Day on the Green concert at the Oakland Coliseum. I ended up with every one of their albums. Great band. RIP

Ahh yes, Day on the Green. I spent a week there on night

sad to read

RIP

Yeah I was just thumbing through my record/tape/CD collection and it became readily apparent that the dead guys are starting to outnumber the living guys... *sigh*

Haha, no kidding! Nor did Keith Richards!

Sad to hear the loss of Eddie. What great music Van Halen made, with David Lee Roth and Sammy!

saw that on the news last night.
R.I.P. Eddie

I was 3 months short of my 18th birthday when I saw Van Halen in 1979. That experience along with numerous shows by Canadian band Streetheart totally altered my perception of what a live rock show should be like from an entertainment value point of view. I was of course already familiar with Eddies virtuosity via owning both of the albums.....Hell, those albums were literally the soundtrack of every outdoor bush party we attended that summer...whoever had the best car stereo opened their trunk & let the 6X9's fly....

I had always been (and remain) a big Sammy solo/Montrose Fan. But with the exception of a couple singles, I never really warmed up to what the merger of the two did to the band until after it was over...by then of course it was too late to see them live.

As much as I appreciate Sammy Hagar & follow him to this day, jcc is correct in one regard: With out DLR being the flamboyant front-man that he was, Van Halen the band would not likely gotten the attention they did.

That said, Roth is still alive & the conversation is about the passing of a beloved musician, so there is no reason to include him in the discussion.