A Tribute to EVH
This post is a little personal.
Make that a lot personal.
Plenty of mixed feelings. Blue melancholy and a touch of sadness blended in with heartfelt gratitude and much admiration for the body of work from a man I have never met.
How do you deal with the unexpected passing of your all-time hero?
For me, it this European immigrant named Edward, who first walked into my life when I was completed my Grade 12 year at Harrison Trimble High.
When my adult son informed me of the sad news, my mind immediately shifted back to being a highly impressionable 17-year old who felt like he had discovered the new Holy Grail of hard rock. Unlike being late to the Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple party, this California quartet could be my own band; one that I could grow with and follow forever.
I remember like it was yesterday. Dropping the needle on Van Halen’s debut piece of vinyl and being hooked for eternity after the opening blasts of “Runnin’ With The Devil”.
The soundtrack of my youth that began in 1978 and accompanied all of life’s ups and downs ended when Eddie Van Halen lost his battle with cancer last week. Saw the group at three different concerts over the past few decades. Wish I could have seen at least thirty-three more – no matter who was fronting the band.
It’s hard to know the proper way to pay tribute and honor your one and only all-time hero.
Here is hoping that Three Ways to Earn Your Stripes is a fitting salute to the incomparable Eddie Van Halen on this edition of Leaders & Legends.
“To hell with the rules. If it sounds right, then it is”. EDWARD VAN HALENp.s… At this writing, funeral arrangements for Edward Van Halen have not been announced by the family, but the internet is bursting with tributes and heartfelt messages from the world of rock and roll and beyond. His older brother Alex Van Halen, cofounder of the band that bears their names, posted a brief but heartfelt tribute to his younger brother that read:
“Hey Ed. Love you. See you on the other side. Your brother, Al”.
Van Halen is among the top 20 best-selling artists of all time, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. The brothers got their start in the mid-70’s when they teamed up with vocalist David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony, building their reputation at various clubs on the Sunset Strip like the Whiskey-A-Go=Go, Gazzarri’s and the Starwood. One of the more touching tributes to Eddie comes from KISS co-founder Gene Simmons who produced Van Halen’s original demo recording.
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