It’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that five years have already passed since we lost Eddie Van Halen, the fiery guitarist who changed rock ’n’ roll with his speed, tone, and larger-than-life presence.
On October 6, 2020, Van Halen died at 65 after a long and courageous fight with cancer. Yet what he left behind was a lifetime of innovation, sound, and spirit that still roars through every riff today.
Rather than focus on the loss, it feels right to celebrate the Dutch-born icon who made the guitar sing and scream.
Eddie Van Halen’s Early Years
Eddie Van Halen was born on January 26, 1955, in Amsterdam, and from the start, music was in his DNA, as his dad, Jan Van Halen, played jazz for a living. When the family moved to Pasadena, California, in 1962, Eddie and his older brother, Alex, carried on the family tradition.
Both brothers started on piano, but Eddie never learned to read music. He played by ear, a gift that would define his unmistakable style. Before long, Alex took up drums, Eddie picked up guitar, and the rest is history.
In the early ‘70s, the brothers were already playing around Southern California under the name Mammoth. After David Lee Roth joined the lineup, they ditched that name for something bolder: Van Halen.
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Their shows were loud, sweaty, and impossible to ignore. Word spread quickly through the L.A. club scene, and before long, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons showed up, impressed enough to produce their first demo and help them gain attention within the industry.
The Rise of Van Halen
After signing with Warner Bros. Records in 1977, Van Halen’s self-titled debut album was released the following year and instantly changed the face of rock. Tracks like “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” made noise on the charts, but the real showstopper was “Eruption.”
According to On This Day in Music, the 102-second instrumental introduced the world to Eddie Van Halen’s spin on the mind-bending two-hand tapping technique. Guitar World later ranked it the second-greatest guitar solo of all time. Van Halen was both an inventor and a performer. He built his own Frankenstrat, a red, white, and black guitar pieced together from spare parts to create the sound he imagined.
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The band sold over an estimated 80 million albums worldwide, racking up hits such as “Jump,” “Panama,” and “Hot for Teacher.” By the time 1984 hit the charts, they were everywhere. On MTV, in packed arenas, and blasting from car stereos across America. For many of us, it was the soundtrack of our generation.
That album gave Van Halen their first and only No. 1 single, cementing their place as true rock legends. And in 2007, they were officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Eddie Van Halen’s Legacy: How His Music Lives On
Eddie’s magic reached well beyond his own band. His lightning solo on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” which he recorded as a favor and never took a dime for, helped propel “Thriller” into history as one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Offstage, he married Valerie Bertinelli in 1981, and ten years later, they welcomed their son, Wolfgang. From an early age, Wolfgang showed the same musical talent as his dad. He learned to play the drums, guitar, and bass.
By 2006, Wolfgang joined Van Halen on bass, performing on the band’s reunion tour and contributing to the 2012 album “A Different Kind of Truth.”
Following his father’s death, Wolfgang launched his own project, Mammoth WVH, a name that paid tribute to the band’s earliest days. His debut single, “Distance,” written in honor of his dad, earned a Grammy nomination in 2022.
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After Eddie and Valerie’s 2007 divorce, Van Halen later found love again with Janie Liszewski, whom he married in 2009. Even while facing surgeries and recurring cancer battles, the rock icon never stopped creating or experimenting with sound.
Five years later, Eddie Van Halen’s influence can still be heard on stages and playlists everywhere. His fire made rock and roll burn brighter, earning him a place among the rock legends whose music will never fade.
