eddievanhalen

Odd Couples: How Eddie Van Halen Reworked a Michael Jackson Song

Eddie Van Halen received a phone call from someone who introduced himself as “Quincy” in 1982. “I don’t know anyone named Quincy,” the guitarist confidently told the caller. But he did know someone named Quincy: Quincy Jones, who was producing Michael Jackson‘s sixth solo album. Jones wanted to know if Van Halen was interested in playing a guitar solo on one of the LP’s songs, “Beat It.” Jackson had purposefully written the song intending to incorporate a harder rock sound — “the type of song that I would buy if I were to buy a rock song,” as he described it. Once Van Halen realized he wasn’t ...

Ultimate Classic Rock

Michael Anthony Says He Had Been Involved With Talks Concerning Van Halen Tribute Tour

With talks recently of a potential Van Halen tribute tour, longtime Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony revealed that he had been involved with talks concerning the potential trek. The bassist reached out to numerous other musicians to see if they’d want to be a part of the tour, but it ultimately hasn’t worked out as of yet. Anthony says he had “a conference call with [manager] Irving Azoff, Alex [Van Halen] and Dave [Lee Roth] last year” about a tour honoring Eddie Van Halen in an interview with The Mitch Lafon and Jeremy White Show. Joe Satriani, Anthony’s Chickenfoot bandmate, was also a par...

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Ted Nugent Says the Best Guitar Player He's Ever Seen Is Eddie Van Halen

Ted Nugent was recently asked to name the best guitarist he’s ever seen, and his response: Eddie Van Halen. Nugent says it’s because Van Halen “was so diverse in not only his histrionics but his groove.” The Nightly Nuge is Nugent’s YouTube channel where you can get his take on the news. A couple of days ago, The Nightly Nuge celebrated its 100th episode where Nugent answered questions from his fans. He talked about subjects such as his favorite animal to hunt, his favorite car and his favorite guitar (his 1968 Gibson Birdland from Kalamazoo that he refers to as Blackie for those interested). ...

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Eddie Van Halen Leaves 'Transformative' Music Education Donation of At Least $1 Million

Eddie Van Halen left an at least $1 million donation to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation (MHOF), an organization that helps kids get music education in schools throughout the United States, as the foundation revealed on Wednesday (April 20). The seven-figure endowment from the late Van Halen guitarist, who died at 65 in 2020, will be “transformative” for the program, a press release explained. The precise sum wasn’t identified. Eddie Van Halen spent over a decade maintaining a close relationship with MHOF, and its aim to help students develop a love for music led him to leave a percentage of ...

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Take a Tour of Superfans' Eddie Van Halen Tribute Van

There are superfans out there, and then there are real superfans. Two people who were obviously very impacted by the iconic Eddie Van Halen have turned a regular old van into an EVH tribute van, and it’s almost as iconic as the guitarist himself. Owned by Marisol Pacheco Richardson and photographer Ryan Stephen Richardson of Music Junkie Press, the van’s name is Van Halen Van 5150 aka “Vanama” and it’s a 1969 Ford Econoline that was painted red, black and white to look just like the pattern on Van Halen’s signature Frankenstrat guitar. The first photo of Vanama was uploaded to Instagram on Oct...

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David Lee Roth Weighs in on Rumored Van Halen Tribute Tour With Joe Satriani + Jason Newsted

This week, former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth addressed rumors surrounding a potential Van Halen tribute tour mentioned by ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted in an interview last week. Indeed, it was the Metallica alum who suggested such a trek was to feature him and guitarist Joe Satriani (a member of Chickenfoot with Sammy Hagar, another former Van Halen lead singer) alongside Alex Van Halen, Van Halen’s surviving drummer and the brother of their late bandleader, Eddie Van Halen. It is unclear who would sing in the proposed tribute. Newsted told The Palm Beach Post on April 14 that Alex ...

Ultimate Metallica

Eddie Van Halen Grammy Tribute Was His 'Family's Wishes'

One of the producers behind the annual Grammy Awards show said he wanted a more elaborate tribute to Eddie Van Halen at last year’s show, but the late guitarist’s family rejected his suggestions. David Wild also explained why it seems like rock music gets less attention during the ceremony than many people would like, but he insisted it was “not true” that the organization has no respect for the genre. While other artists who died in the months leading up to the 2021 show were given two minutes of coverage, with other artists performing their music, Van Halen’s tribute amounted to video playba...

Ultimate Classic Rock

Here's How Wolfgang Van Halen's First Signature Guitar Will Pay Tribute to EVH

In 1996, the late Eddie Van Halen named one of his signature guitar models, the EVH Wolfgang, after his 5-year-old son, Mammoth WVH‘s Wolfgang Van Halen. Today, that idea is coming full circle. Wolf, now 31, is currently designing his own signature instrument, his first. Naturally, the axe will pay tribute to his father, the Van Halen guitarist who’s become as influential to music gear as Van Halen is to rock music. Wolf announced his new guitar, revealing its model name and some of its specifications, in a March 14 interview with Chris Shiflett on the Foo Fighters guitarist’s Walking the Floo...

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Valerie Bertinelli Says She Did Not Cause Original Van Halen Lineup Split

Post-1984, Van Halen were riding high enjoying some of the biggest success of their career, but that album would prove to be their last with singer David Lee Roth. While joining Rob Lowe on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast (as heard below), Eddie Van Halen‘s ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli looked back on that period, revealing that while she sensed a friction with Roth, she was not the cause of the band’s split at the time. Bertinelli has been making the promotional rounds in support of her book, “Enough Already: Learning To Love The Way I Am Today,” and the book delves into her relationship wi...

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Sammy Hagar Says This Song Is One of His Greatest Collaborations With Eddie Van Halen

Former Van Halen singer and current The Circle bandleader Sammy Hagar recently suggested a song he thinks is a prime example of his collaborative work with the late Eddie Van Halen. For him, it all hinges on the chorus and “that iconic piano part” — written by Eddie, of course. “It was in the bag,” Hagar recalled. “The song would have been great if I sang about cat food.” What’s the song? It’s 1992’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge single “Right Now.” The album, Van Halen’s ninth studio effort, was released in 1991. Last week, Hagar told Guitar Player “Right Now” is “a really great example of ho...

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