More like they brought the song to Eddie's recording studio at his house already completed, except the solo of course. It only took 2 takes, after his first one Quincy Jones said it was good, but could you make it have more of a pop feel, and boom. The 2nd take is what they put on the album. That to me is absolutely incredible, and did it more or less on the fly. I think he said it took about 20 minutes of his time and made millions off it.
RIP to the greatest guitarist ever - and this is his best solo. I remember listening to EVH’s records in the car with my dad in the 90s when I was just a kid. Things won’t be the same without him. In a sense, guitar music has died with EVH.
That exact pinch harmonic has yet to be replicated in any of the countless covers I've heard on YT. No one can get it exactly right. The note only exists on Eddie's guitar.
even Eddie never does it the same on the live shows with Michel, because they produce it separately in the studio. how ? well, they took a Wha Wha pedal, dropped it to it's lower point and opened it during the pinch harmonic. that's how you get the whaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Eddie recorded the solo on the Michael Jackson song "Beat It" when The Who guitarist Pete Townshend became unavailable and recommended him.[29] Eddie met with Quincy Jones and Jackson. Unsure of what he could add to a pop song, he played along with the song and ended up restructuring it and adding the classic solo. In a 2012 CNN interview,[30] he said, "I listened to the song, and I immediately go, 'Can I change some parts?' I turned to the engineer and I go, 'OK, from the breakdown, chop in this part, go to this piece, pre-chorus, to the chorus, out.' Took him maybe 10 minutes to put it together. And I proceeded to improvise two solos over it." He added, "I was just finishing the second solo when Michael walked in. And you know artists are kind of crazy people. We're all a little bit strange. I didn't know how he would react to what I was doing. So I warned him before he listened. I said, 'Look, I changed the middle section of your song.' Now in my mind, he's either going to have his bodyguards kick me out for butchering his song, or he's going to like it. And so he gave it a listen, and he turned to me and went, 'Wow, thank you so much for having the passion to not just come in and blaze a solo but to actually care about the song and make it better." Eddie was so pleased he refused payment for his work.
In another interview Eddie said that he and his Van Halen band mates had an agreement not to take paid gigs outside the band. All of his bandmates were out of town, so he was unable to ask them if it was OK to play on Jackson's song. He did not have permission from them, so he did it for free.
During an interview back in the 80's Eddie admitted he didn't like the song "Beat It" when he first heard it and didn't consider it a rock song but played on it anyway as a favor for Quincey Jones who was Michael Jackson's producer. Eddie said he thought to himself "Who's gonna hear me playing on this black kids record?". The answer to his question was, the world.
Come on now. I was not just Q's fault. Eddie didn't think Beat It was gonna be a hit. That's why he let it slide. It wasn't until he was hearing it everywhere that he knew that he had made a classic. I feel bad for Eddie because Beat It is one of his best and best known riffs. Musicians kill for something like this. And this was top of his head. But he was did not think it through. Much like King Kirby, he gave his best work out on a whim.
TheRoyal TriadVevo Maybe thats why your music sucks. Give it a go. Eddie was best friends with 2 blacks kids when he first came to Pasadena from Holland.
Man there's just something about the way this solo was pulled off and recorded, it's like perfectly clean and technical yet still has this wild energy. Just a sick solo all around.
@@THRASHMETALFUNRIFFS your a complete fool and have no understanding of music and guitar evolution. if it wasnt for eddie, metallica, slayer, canibal corpse, pantera, hatebreed, slipknot... all these metal bands wouldnt have existed the way that they did. eddie changed electric guitar again in 1978 just like hendix did in 1967 till his death.
You ever hear a song a hundred times, and then all of the sudden, you appreciate it more than all the other times you've heard it? That happened to me the other day while listening to Beat It. This solo is such fire, and I honestly never knew it was Eddie.
Eddie Van Halen taught others how to bring hammer-ons and harmonic screams to recordings and live performances! EDDIE VAN HALEN GREATEST INOVATOR OF HARD ROCK GUITAR!
These are probably the most disorganized clump of notes but just the right amount of phrasing and you sound like Ed (I mean this in the best way possible)
@@lukeabrahamsen-collins808 Then you don't understand music at all. Music is very deliberate and mathematical. Sure, you may have happy accidents where you're just riffing and you play something and go "oh that was real good" but then you have to rework it, make it fit, build something around it. I wouldn't even call improvised solos a disorganized clump of notes. Cause you still have to know what goes with what, how to build upon what you're playing and what you just played, pace yourself correctly, not play just any note, but notes that complement each other. And yes, all that may come with instinct in the moment, but that instinct was built with the experience of knowing what to do and how to do it.
Until I was around 11 years old, I was mostly accustomed to listening to R&B/Funk/Disco music. That was, until the day I heard "Beat it" for the first time, and that guitar solo kicked in. To say that hearing this solo for the first time was the most electrifying experience would be an understatement, it was a game-changer for me. I dumped R&B/Disco for Rock, and has remained that way decades later. I owe 90% of the music I listen to to both MJ and Eddie Van Halen. Two legends now rocking on in the afterlife.
I heard this for the first time in a hotel room in Virginia on a clock radio. I was a senior in high school and in February 1983 I was visiting colleges for campus interviews. I was a huge VH fan and did not know that Eddie did this. When the solo hit, I was like “holy shit, that sounds like Eddie”.When the DJ came on after the song and said that was Eddie on solo, I was like “yes! I knew it,,”
Every note of that solo, every note of everything he left in this world, is with us forever and ever, cheers Eddie, meet all the music legends up there
Thank you Eddie...I'm not a Rock-enthusiast myself, but you were one of those artists that transcended genre. Rock the Pearly-Gates my friend. Thank you for everything.
Eddie van Halen truly makes the guitar "howl." Other guitarists bragged about making the guitar howl in the '50s and '60s, but Eddie was the first to truly do it. I call his playing the "wildcat" style.
Every time I hear this song and this solo it takes me back, takes me back to the VERY first time I took an interest in the guitar, as an instrument and as an extension of oneself. I remember being blown away by the expressiveness of this type of playing, I remember always thinking to myself "Who's playing guitar like that, it doesn't even sound like anything else in existence?". Suffice to say it left me moved and entranced, years later while my parents were away on a weekend and I was left home alone to watch my younger sister, Hendrix live at Monterey just happened to have been free on one of the PPV channels. Hearing both of those two legends at work, made me go back and find out who played on "Beat It". Upon finding out I then begged my father to burn CDs of every VH, Ozzy Osbourne and The Jimi Hendrix Experience albums on our family computer through LimeWire for me, which subsequently made me pick up my first guitar later that year and since that moment things have never been the same haha.
This is absolutely the best solo ever laid down! Eddie Van Halen is a complete genius! There is absolutely nobody on Earth that has the same technique or sound that Eddie Van Halen has! When you listen to this solo it moves you! Eddie is the best there ever was and ever will be!
Terry Brocks Slash is good but comes nowhere near to the amount of theory and technique that Eddie has. Eddie was basically the next big thing after Hendrix and Page.
I don't think he gets enough credit for his contribution to this song. Really makes me wish we had more collaboration between Rock/Metal bands and Hip-Hop/Pop artists.
Without the bass and drum accompaniment it sounds awesome but with the rhythm section you can hear how spot-on and awesome his abilities were! Not unlike Jeff Beck, his unique style is too difficult for most to cover. Serious but playful, otherworldly skills. And he never took himself too seriously. Respect.
I know there are many contenders but this, to me, is Eddies finest moment. Apparently, he didn't even know where this solo came from and any attempt to replicate it never sounded the same!
@@AbirZenith look it up. There are literally tons of people who play it note and tone perfect. Saying "only Eddie can play it the way he played it" is just fanboying. Tons of people can do it.
@@Fireglo yet they leave out certain parts and or are late on some parts trust me I done listened to far to many but they are good though not saying they are bad.
@@Fireglo which cover do you think is perfect ? The best ones I found don't come even 50% as close as the original , Eddie truly was a god and nobody can play this solo like eddie did , at least I think so , prove me wrong if you can
I remember when this song first came out me and my friend listened to it. After the solo we both looked at each other, then rushed over and rewound the cassette tape and listened again. With our jaws dropped we both said "wtf just happened" It blew us away.
Orgulloso de decir que EDDIE VAN HALEN fue el guitarrista del cual inspire mi estilo de tocar guitarra. Su felinos armónicos secuestraron mis oídos. Descanse ud gran maestro. Su legado quedará en la historia de aqui a la eternidad
I finally understood that this was played by Eddie and I was shocked that a guy that I’ve only heard of in my late teens made one of the most iconic melodies of my childhood. That ascension he makes at the end still hits me as hard as back when I was 4.
You know what's crazy? Even if I didn't read that this was Eddie I would've known. Even if he plays someone else's stuff Eddie has a certain way about it that's as good as his signature. Instantly recognizable . Anyone else feels this way?
I have listened lot of beat solo specially this portion but no body can replicate this masterpiece.... Never ever.....One of the greatest solos ever and the best by Van Halen.....RIP MJ n Van Halen ❤❤❤
If there was some sort of giant winged monster living in a cave made of guitars, this would be the sound of it waking up, stretching out, and leaping from it's perch situated on the edge of a cliff.
