Eddie Van Halen
On October 6, at the age of 65, we lost guitarist and composer Eddie Van Halen after a long battle with cancer. In the early 1980s, the quartet Van Halen achieved their sole No. 1 gold single with “Jump” in the same era when Survivor reached No. 1 with “Eye of the Tiger,” co-written by guitarist Jim Peterik of The Ides of March and formerly with Survivor and .38 Special fame. Jim told Goldmine, “Eddie wrote the book on melodic lead guitar. Not content to be just a shredding, tapping machine, he wove in memorable melodic leads into every solo. He was always a musician first, a technician second, and he influenced countless students along the way. May you rock in peace!”
In 1978, the self-titled debut album Van Halen included the quartet’s debut Top 40 single, a cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” filled with power and sung by David Lee Roth. In addition to their original composition “Dance the Night Away” the following year, two more covers entered the Top 40 early the following decade, “(Oh) Pretty Woman” followed by “Dancing in the Street.” Eddie also had a prominent guest guitarist spot on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” which reached No. 1 in 1983.
After the success of Van Halen’s album , which included the Top 40 hits “Jump,” “I’ll Wait” and “Panama,” David Lee Roth departed
