You only touched on the tip of the iceberg for the influence that Eddie and the entire band had on music. Their debut came out in 78 and when I tell ya, NO ONE had heard anything like this before then, I am not exaggerating. Van Halen was a monster band with decades of success. Eddie Passed away 2 years ago just about and his loss is still felt throughout the industry. His son Wolfgang has his own band and writes his own music and is a phenomenal musician in his own right. I recommend that you react to the official video for Hot for Teacher by Van Halen with Eddie playing the iconic lead, and then go check out his son playing the same song at the Taylor Hawkins tribute show a couple of weeks ago. Let me know if you want a link. DNA is definitely a thing.
I was one of those who followed every backyard party they performed (groupie?...lol). I remember sitting on top of a garage in 1978 watching Eddie's Eruption solo as the Temple City sheriff helicopters were flying over with a spotlight on him and it was truly awe inspiring. I to this day, after over 100 live bands, have never seen a performance like his. I think the only performance close was Freddy Mercury in Queen's The Game tour. I went to the farewell show they did at the Pasadena Civic Center that same summer before the album came out but sadly didn't get to see them again until the US Festival in 83. I never saw them perform with Sammy. BTW, you can find the live 83 US Festival performance on here as well and personally (sure, I'm biased because I was there) I think it is even better than this.
I'm 3 years younger than Eddie and I grew up with these guys in socal. Saw them play before they ever got a record contract or open for anyone and I was sold, hook line and sinker! RIP Eddie, the GOAT.
It is so fun to watch peoples facial expressions as there brain tries to process it all . Eddie was the first at many new things and a true legend and KING of the hammer ons . I was lucky enough to catch Van Halen twice live in the 80,s and they were SO good ! Just awesome to see younger generations discover this man and his many talents .. RIP Eddie you will be missed Sir ! Great reaction !
It's a tragedy your generation will never know. I first saw Van Halen as a casual fan. Some friends were going and invited me. I said, "Sure. Why not?" That night changed me and vmy life. The SOUND of his guitar was....it had a divinity to it. It really did. Concerts were LOUDER back then, too. Way louder. The sound of Ed's guitar lifted you up. It vibrated at the same frequency as our bodies. You FELT every single note vibrate through you. It was really unbelievable. This little guy with a guitar and a grin that said he knew he won the life lottery, and he was happy to share it with you. Your feet never touched ground while Eddie played. He was once-in-history, and I was so blessed to be able to see him dozens of times, and even meet him twice. He was Eddie, man.
The 70's were the garage band era for me! I graduated HS in 78, and to mirror another comentator here, nobody had heard this kind of guitar stuff before. Certainly Hendrix was using tapping here and there, yet Eddie stood on his shoulder and didn't just stand there! He launched himself and his music into the stratosphere! His intro for us to his neoclassical riffs, super fast and wild hard rock blended in, & yet somehow not haphazard, but still flowing music had EVERYONE all abuzz (and most were then, lol); from the garage guys up to industry giants of the Gene Simmons caliber. If I only had a nickle for every newbie that ever said 'Holy CRAP what is THAT?!!!' RIP Eddie. Thanks man.
I was one of those who followed every backyard party they performed (groupie?...lol). I remember sitting on top of a garage 1 block south of the corner of Valley and Rosemead Blvd. Watching Eddie's Eruption solo as the Temple City sheriff helicopters were flying over with a spotlight on him. I lived in San Gabriel but was frequenting Pasadena because Rocky Horror was playing every Saturday night at the Rialto and knew the guys in both Smile and Smokehouse who would play at parties with them often so eventually got to meet them all. I went to the farewell show they did at the Pasadena Civic Center before the 78 album came out but sadly didn't get to see them again until the US Festival in 83. I never saw them perform with Sammy.
Eddie & ALEX VAN HALEN, GREW up in a musically gifted family. Alex was gifted in drumming. EDDIE was gifted in the guitar! He created his own Hybrid guitar sound, by creating his ICONIC guitar sound, by combining 2 guitars, into one, nicknamed the Frankencastro. Misspelled most likely.
The whole LIVE WITHOUT A NET video was unbelievable-I wore out this tape when I was jr. high. Nonstop amazing concert- they go without stopping straight into Panama if I remember right
You are about 6 minutes in and I bet you are wishing you had someone to talk to about this solo right now! The look of pure wonder on your face is like the first time my firstborn discovered snow or something else he never saw before! It's something you will never forget. Eddie Van Halen is/was the absolute best! There will never be anyone like him! Great reaction to this "icon"ic song! Thank you for letting me sit in with you today!
I wouldn’t say that. Wolfy is a jack of all trades. Can sing and play a bunch of instruments, but he will never be his dad even though he is a great kid
@@waylonmccrae3546 Gotta humbly disagree with you on this one brother. Notice everyone was wearing the same clothes throughout. I've seen a few their performances. This was a legit live performance.
Great reaction. Okay, i have mad respect for Jimmy and Stevie but you just watched the greatest Rock and Roll guitar player that's ever lived. Period! RIP Eddie, a true legand.
Eddie is a guitar God! His playing is so otherworldly we don’t even notice that he is wearing pink MC Hammer/parachute pants. A guitar god wants to wear ridiculous pants, he wears ridiculous pants and the rest of us can just wish we could pull it off.
It's generalizing but not overstating it to say that the entire decade of the 80s rock was essentially 98% of rock bands trying to replicate what Van Halen was doing. Some were excellent, some were just so so, some were horrible. But none ever quite replicated what Eddie had.
@@GeorgeZimmermen I was the same way the first time I heard Van Halen when the first album came out. I remember the guy at the music shop played it for me. When I got home I threw my guitar in the closet.
One of the greatest….and the greatest innovator on guitar since Jimmy Hendrix…..icon is an applicable word! What he was doing was called tapping…Eddie didn’t invent it, but he took it to new levels….and he developed other techniques…guitar players have been copying him ever since. He also changed the way amps reproduced sound! RIP, EVH!
That was a joke to see if they were really paying attention to all of the minor details in their tour contracts & weren't just trying to cash in on the band , and they were , it wasn't some ridiculous diva behavior , was just a joke , but was cool that they took them serious enough to do it !! 😉
@@waylonmccrae3546 maybe funny wasn't the right word. Unique maybe? But it was for serious/safety reasons. I thought the brown M&M thing was creative as heck.
He's not the best guitarist of all time. I had a long-haired metal neighbor who learned "Eruption" when he was 16. He became obsessed with guitar and eventually got an MFA in classical guitar from Yale, where he had to learn music much more challenging than Van Halen. Eddie Van Halen is a top tier rock guitarist, but the level of musicianship in the classical and jazz worlds is much higher--and the guitarists in Frank Zappa's bands were freaks of nature, and were often Berklee School of Music graduates who could switch between popular and classical/jazz idioms with ease.