Articles — Eddie Van Halen

Few bands left a bigger mark on rock music—and rock culture—than Van Halen. From Eddie Van Halen's revolutionary guitar work to David Lee Roth's larger-than-life stage presence, the band's combination of musicianship, showmanship, and unmistakable visual style created a legacy that continues to attract collectors decades after the group's debut. It's also worth noting the incredible contributions of Michael Anthony, whose solid bass work and distinctive background vocals helped define the group's sound, and Alex Van Halen, a significantly underrated drummer. Drummers today still debate how to properly play the ground-pounding introduction to "Hot For Teacher".  VH is also one...

Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020). In October 2020 the music world lost guitar virtuoso and talented songwriter Eddie Van Halen. As we reflect on the loss two years on, it's best to remember the rock god for his incredible guitar prowess. What better way to do that than to listen to some isolated Eddie guitar magic? Every rock guitarist alive in the 80s regarded Eddie Van Halen as a god. It's the truth. While Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and others were influences that Eddie would often acknowledge, he took the art of rock guitar to another level, literally inventing techniques that would influence...

In honor of Eddie Van Halen's birthday today, January 26, here's a few tracks of his guitar work, isolated so you hear him alone. While many know him for his speedy fretwork, double picking and hammer-on/harmonic work, he is also a great riff master. Eddie's terrific songwriting chops shine through in his great rhythm guitar parts for Van Halen's tunes. Check out some samples below on "Runnin' With The Devil", "Little Guitars" and "Somebody Get Me A Doctor".  And don't forget to check out our Van Halen memorabila here. For more content like this, updates on our latest arrivals plus a...