Thank you for all your support. Your donations and messages are comforting. Please know that your donations will give more opportunities to many kids through music, something that was so important to Eddie. We treasure his friendship and the work we did together for music education. Our hearts are broken.

The only answer is... Because he was Eddie Van Halen.

Hope he jams with Jimi Hendrix, Randy Rhoads & Dimebag Darrell

When he did Beat It with Michael Jackson, Eddie recalled going into a store and the song came on the radio. Some kids were in front of his and said "Listen to this guy trying to sound like Eddie Van Halen". The Eddie taps him on the shoulder and says "That IS Me!" R.I.P to a true Legend!

Neil Peart, Frankie Banali, and now Eddie Van Halen......2020 has taken the so many true legends.

i don't tend to get emotional over celebrity deaths, but i cried today. Eddie and the rest of the band pulled me out of many, many nights of depression. i must have watched my uncle's VHS copy of "Live Without A Net" at least 250 times or more in my teen years. what a tragic fucking loss.

Eddie Van Halen literally inspired me to become a musician, and is the man who got me into rock in the first place. Even though he has passed on, he will forever be my hero along side Hendrix and Gilmour. Rip EVH, keep rocking on the other side

Great video, brother. It's also worth noting about the dive-bombs that before the Floyd Rose, Eddie filed down the nut so that the strings didn't catch. The downside of this was that the strings would constantly pop out of the nut unless he positioned his hands to keep them there. He created a technique to be able to pull off all these feats without our modern tech that was specifically designed to allow players to do the types of things Eddie was doing in the 70's.

I was never much into Van Halen stuff but MAN, today 7th October at 4am in my country I got up to go to bathroom and decided to check my phone and there was the news. Honestly, I was shaken to the core that he's gone. Even though I never got into Van Halen stuff, I heard so many of my favourite musicians quote him as a MAJOR influence, not just guitarist, but also keyboardists, specifically Derek Sherinian, that I always respected the hell out of him. 2020 is definitely the worst year, an absolute ICON left us. RIP one of the most influential guitarist ever Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020)

I can’t believe we lost yet again another legend this year. He will be missed ❤️

Eddie wasn't a huge influence on me, but now that he's gone, and I know I'll never get the change to see him live, it makes me realize how much he actually impacted me, and the guitar community. I mean the tapping part in eruption is as good as it gets with anything

May him and Neil Pear Jam in heaven. R.I.P.

when a GIANT walked the Earth ... Edward Van Halen

I'm only 25, haven't even been playing guitar for 10 years, didn't grow up listening to Eddie, but I'm still writing this with a tear in my eye. Seeing the guitar community come together to pay respects to the greatest makes me realize just how important he was to everyone. RIP Eddie.

Not gonna lie, I’m a bit young. First time I heard Van Halen was when my dad brought home Guitar Hero: Van Halen. I saw eruption and thought it sounded cool and was blown away just like everyone else. I will never get that feeling ever again.

Literally just heard about this like 15 minutes ago. Rip the greatest.

I’ve known about him having throat cancer for months but I just couldn’t accept he’d be gone. And now he is. RIP one of the greatest to ever pick up a guitar

Freddy Mercury's parents couldn't afford to buy him a piano but he got it done. There is just something about these cats back in the day where the music and artistic drive burned within them so much that they were able overcome any obstacles. I don't know how old you are but back in 88,89 I was 8 or 9 I had Van Halen 1 on cassette and I loved it and I'm so glad I did then because 2 years later Nirvana released Nevermind and I got to appreciate it before the Grunge explosion. Trust me, when Nirvana dropped 80s metal was over but it's great to see that greatness stands the test of time.... RIP Eddie

*gets copyright claimed on an unmonetized video*

I’ll be heartbroken over this loss for quite some time. I can only imagine how Wolfgang and Alex....his whole family are feeling right now. He changed my whole thought process about guitar when I first heard him in 1978. Light Up The Sky Edward! Rest In Peace.

I am heartbroken right now. Absolutely haven't felt affected like this since Chester. It feels so weird knowing its over. May he Rest in Power

i’m too young to have grown up on Van Halen, so i know that i might not be the best person to say anything about him as some of you. but i still wanted to thank Eddie Van Halen for what he did for music. in addition to the music he made himself, not a single one of the musicians and bands i love today would even exist if he never did what he did. he changed the game for everyone, and i’m forever grateful. rest in peace, Eddie.

Everyone knows Eddie's one of the best, but I still can't help but feel he's underrated. To me, he's definitively number one. The greatest guitarist of all time and Van Halen will forever be one of my favorite bands.

A true legend that will be sorely missed R.I.P

This hit my musician friends hard. Especially my good friend Anthony Difiglio who is a young metal musician with a youtube channel. I cannot tell you how differently I feel now when I listen to the guitar solo from Beat It by Michael Jackson or both the keyboard solo and guitar solo to Jump by Van Halen or even Eruption when he does that tapping technique. It is legendary musicians/musical innovators like Eddie Van Halen, Jaco Pastorius, John Coltrane, etc. who developed new techniques that you would've never seen done today. Eddie obviously left such an impact on music like Jaco and John. He will be missed. RIP Eddie Van Halen 🙏🏻

I feel a little more mortal / closer to death whenever we lose a great musician. It's like an important part of life in general just disappeared to be replaced by nothing. Music lost so much today

People don't truly appreciate somebody's gift until they know they're gone.🌷🌺

Heaven has Jimi, Randy, Stevie, and now Eddie four guitarist jamming in Heaven🥺🤞🏽

this is just such a shock. van halen was the band i grew up on with my dad. i’ll never forget hearing eruption for the first time. instantly intrigued me to want to learn how to play guitar and that be a huge goal of mine still to learn it in its entirety. this definitely hits me and my dad hard knowing we’ll never get to see him live together. he was the guy who created the 80s shred guitar like you said. truly a legend. RIP Eddie

Eddie took guitar and guitar playing to a place we'll never come back from. And we'll always love him for that. This is a huge loss.. To reflect on the impact he made during his life is absolutely mind blowing. RIP Eddie Van Halen!!! \m/!!!

I hope that Dime, Vinny, Cliff, Jimi, Randy, and Neil are jamming with Eddie up in heaven rn 😭... the greatest jam of all time...

This made me cry...I'm honestly speechless rn, but I feel like this is the best opportunity that I will have to say what I wanna say.When I first listened to Kirk Hammett you know One,Master of puppets solos etc. I was really blown away by the way guitar can sound.He really did inspired me to pick up guitar.The next day this 13 minute video popped in my recommended and I clicked on it.Little did I know my life would change forever.Yeah I'm talking about Eruption and damn.This guy really just was magician.So yeah Kirk may inspired me to pick up guitat,but Eddie was the one that inspired me to get better.Not only that I watched a lot of interviews and in every single one he was so humble and so sweet.He never claimed that he is the best.He never claimed that he invented the tapping.He never thought that he is over everyone.That's really what made me fall in love with his personality.He not only inspired me to get better at guitar,but also to better in life.That's something I would never forget.Fly high angel!We will never forget you!You are the past,the present and the future of music!🕊🖤

Rest in peace to the greatest rock guitarist of all time 🎸🕊⚡

It was devastating when Randy Rhoads passed away , Eddie became my favorite ! Now our Mighty has two guitar Gods in his presence . EVH will Rock Forever !

Had to start work early today, driving from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. I had my van Halen compilation in the CD player but I have been listening to the news all the way up keeping up with the crazy events of our times. But I got to Santa Barbara early and I wound up having to wait for a few minutes for my contact to arrive. So I finally put on the CD player and the first thing that came up in my randomized playlist was Dreams. And it was amazing how strong the emotion was. I sat there and just cried. I didn’t even try to hide it I’m sitting on the street in this parking spot and just all of emotions coming out of me in this beautiful fucking song. Yeah man it’s just not the death of a person it’s a death of an age; of a spirit. How exciting was his playing and spirit.

I found out Eddie died on Tuesday an hour before I got of work, I was crushed. As soon as I left work I put in the Van Halen II CD put the windows down and cranked the volume as loud as it would go. I had several errands to run and wondered if anyone else would realize my small tribute to Ed. I pulled into my local Butcher shop and a guy about my age was coming out of the store as I arrived. He said "Jamming out to some Halen, nice". I asked him if he knew Eddie had passed, he hadn't heard yet. He was equally bummed. We talked about Eddie and the band for about five minutes. Made me feel a bit better that someone felt the same as I did. Ed was one of the greats and often had a great smile while playing. So glad I had the chance to see him and the band live many times.

I'm totally in shocked when Eddie Van Halen passed away. May he rest in peace, our legendary guitarist.

My hero. He was the reason I got into music, and he was the reason I picked up a guitar. He was my hero, always has been, always will be. I love you and miss you Eddie. Rest In Peace Eddie.❤🎸🤟🏻

RIP to King Edward. The Netherlands is in deep mourning for their Eddie Von Hollen. We'll miss you Eddie.

Just now seeing this. Well spoken friend.the thing to me about eddie van halen,was he was such a gentle soul. So humble it seemed. They say he got extremely nervous before shows years after fame had already taken place. When he turned his spirit into the guitar,it was just effortless. He had the ability transfer his imagination of sound through his guitar and amp to your emotinal core as a guitarist. Truly one of a kind. I think it's safe to say ed earned his wings. Fly high mr. Van halen.

One of the best all-around guitar players to grace this earth. R.I.P.

You know you’re a damn good guitar player when the frontman decides to name the band after you. Shred in peace

I'm only 18, but after watching a ton of your videos along with Jared Dines and a bunch of other amazing metal youtubers, I have come to absolutely and whole heartedly love metal. Eddie may have not been my favorite guitar player but damn did he do an amazing job. With some of the best riffs ever written he holds the seat along with many others as the kings of metal and the pioneers for a genre of music that I am still criticized for liking. I may not know much about Eddie but know that he is to be respected as not just a guitarist, but as a visionary and as an individual. He will be missed but people will continue to shred in his honor. People will continue to keep his name relevant and he will go down in history as one of the best guitarist to ever live. RIP to a legend among men and a god among the stars.

It's still hard for me to process that he's gone now. Even though I wasn't as obsessed with him as with some other guitarists when I was beginning my adventure with guitar, Eddie's style still seeped into my playing in a big way, probably more so than anyone else's. He will be missed, and I'll always be thankful for the influence he had on the guitar world as a whole as well as on my own playing.

Rest in Power, definitely one of if not the greatest guitar player ever. May he continue to do legendary jams in heaven. This hit me harder then I could ever imagine, hope ur jamin with Jimi an Neil Peart. He will be missed.

R.I.P. Eddie Van Halen. Your legacy surely will never be forgotten. 🤘🤘

It's official, the 3 greatest ever guitartists have passed. R.I.P Halen, RR and Hendrix 💜🙏🌹🕊️🎸

Cool video! Eddie's death is hitting me so hard, I feel like a family member died. I never even met the guy but his music changed my life in so many ways.

Thank you for mentioning his family. This is the first channel I've heard that didn't overlook their pain.

He is the reason I love Rock music so much.

Every generation has an individual that literally changes the game of their respective craft but EVH was that individual that transcends generations and became a once in a lifetime historical figure that changed the world of guitar and will forever be remembered eternally,let the book be written! Only one EDDIE VAN HALEN! RIP 1955-2020

In recent months I was falling in love with Van Halen all over again, for the first time since being a young boy. Dug through all the old interviews and ordered many live bootlegs off eBay too. To hear this news was such a blow to the gut man...unreal timing for me, personally. RIP to a legend

When you said "he is" and corrected yourself to "he was," that choked me up man. Im still accepting that it happened too, just a tragic loss of one of the greatest of all time.

This hit me like a truck I got to see Eddie In 2012 at a van halen concert but then I got to meet him afterward he was so nice and such a sweet man and when I told him he was one of the inspirations on why I started playing guitar and he even gave me tips when I told him I’m trying to learn hot for teacher such a nice man

In 1977 I was only 10 years old and just started getting into hard rock. I was into UFO, Aerosmith, Zeppelin, Skynyrd, Pat Travers, Kiss and all the guitar bands. My older sister had all these albums. Then a few older kids had the new Van Halen album. We were all blown away. It was just so different. The guitar was awesome, but it also defined the music. It just fit. Eruption was an instant hit on FM radio and it was played regularly. There were lots of great guitar players, but EVH just took it to another level in every aspect. I believe it took at least two or three years for everyone else to try and catch up.

Of all the tributes & perspectives I've listened to, your's most acurately describes the way I feel about my guitar hero. This V.H fan was fortunate enough, and determined enough, to see them 9 times between 1979 and 1984.

Steve Vai: Only an idiot would compete with Eddie Van Halen

I was never big on Van Halen until just a few months ago. A friend of mine who I see great potential in, indirectly interested me in Eddie Van Halen. And I loved it. Because I could just not comprehend the thrill I was listening to when I heard Eruption for the first time. I was in my grandma's kitchen just scrolling through my news feed on my phone. The words "Eddie Van Halen is dead" showed up, and I couldn't believe it. My grandma couldn't believe it. Now I feel like I need to pay homage because I didn't respect Van Halen enough.

I love you all and I hope you have a great day. RIP

I saw it on the news this morning i fucking cried good i Cant belive it. Edie you were the best of the best love and respect R.I.P 😔

im glad you pointed out how innovative EVH was to the guitar industry. from the fact that he basically created his own guitar and sound because nothing available on the market was able to do that for him, to the amps he helped design with raw tone in mind, he was a true tone chaser. thats the thing i learned the most from him, i never really tried to nail his songs note for note, i was more obsessed with studying and understanding the little nuances that helped make his tone sound organic and electrifying. i remember buying a variac for a peavey ultra 60 tube amp i had to see how it would sound lol. i recreated his guitar which helped me learn how to build guitars and fix them but also helped me understand what i was looking for in a guitar that would help me play like myself. EVH was all about approaching barriers and completely obliterating them with a big cheesy smile on your face!

Eddie was/is one of the very most important people in my life. Since 1978, who I am is substantially because EVH existed.

RIP EVH “Heroes are remember, legends live forever” - Eddie Van Halen 2015

Yes I understand this very well I just always thought he would be there forever I'm still in shock that he has gone on to bigger and better things Rip Eddie Van Halen you will be missed

He was the best innovator and revolutionary! He was the most inspired and gifted!! For His legacy and techniques, and unbelievable musical sense He is the greatest!!

One of the things younger people often don't internalize about music, film, and even technology, is the phenomena where a lot of influential stuff doesn't so impressive because we live in a world where the impact of that older thing has been fully entrenched and embedded for so long. Thousands of people came along and made it better and expanded upon it, so experiencing the orginal thing now seems anticlimactic. But for people who remember the world BEFORE they came along, it's very apparent how revolutionary certain things actually were, and Eddie and Van Halen's sound truly changed the face of rock music forever. RIP you guitar god.

A huge loss for us all a very special time in rock and also my personal life . Eruption for ever. RIP fast boy.

The new hit like a freight train.... I feel such a loss and I'm beyond words

I had a hard time saying goodbye to Eddie, still to this day! It's awesome Wolfgang has a new CD coming June 11th! I grew up listening to Eddie, now I'm gonna grow old listening to his son, Wolfgang! MammothWVH!!

There is no best, there is only greatness, and Eddie was one of the greats. Long live rock n' roll!

Thanks for sharing and opening up the eyes of the ones who are not aware of Mr. Van Halen"s greatness.👍

I just ran across this today (july 9 ) and I just wanted to say that I was recently thinking about Amadeus and that we have his music we will never know how he felt when he performed. Thanks to video recordings the future will see how he played. But those of us who have seen him in person have not only seen and heard him but also have felt his presence in our souls. Thanks for giving us a chance to see into your soul

R.I.P eddie he will always be in our hearts

Agreed! He was the best. The sounds he was able to create with that axe were unreal. Eddie was a next-level talent and simply inhuman in ability. Keep on rocking, Eddie! RIP.

There is no was he is the best and still lives 🤘🤘🤘🤘👍👍👍

Jimi Hendrix is the greatest of all-time because of his technical abilities to push guitar playing to a level no one else had before him, and using effects pedals to create guitar sounds, taking music to new worlds most people still cannot fathom how to do themselves. And yes, there were great guitarists before Jimi. Albert, B.B., and Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Water, Eric Clapton, Lonnie Mack, Nokie Edwards, Rosetta Tharpe, etc., but they weren't being so flamboyant while being virtuosoic the way Jimi was. They weren't seeing out sounds when effects pedals came into play like Jimi did. Eddie Van Halen is the greatest of all-time because of the techniques he introduced that, while were not his sole invention, became popular because of him. He also changed the course of music history for an entire decade. If not for Van Halen, we would've never had the explosion of Pop Metal (Hair Metal to those who loathe the genre). Every Metal band that mixed glam into their look in the 1980's will tell you that Van Halen was their main, if not their sole inspiration. Not only in terms of technique, but also in looks because the band was mixing glam with metal years before bands like Motley Crew, Dokken, Bon Jovi, Warrant, Twisted Sister, Ratt, and countless others were. Without Van Halen, the 1980's Metal scene would've been drastically different. Both guitarists continue to inspire new generations, and everyone who hears them play for the first time are immediately blown away by how epic their skills are. Rest In Paradise, Eddie, and Jimi. You will never be forgotten.

Van Halen I was released the year of my 16th birthday. It was literally life changing.

😢😢 An irreparable loss

RIP EVH. and your video was awesome. Tribute well served. Thank you Mike.

He still IS a legend, homie. Always and forever.

Man, 1st I don't have a clue why I have just now got your message and you're channel, EVH was ,and is my music world , I'm still at such a loss, he is the GOAT and forever wii be , LONG LIVE EDWARD VAN HALEN

Totally agree with you my friend word by word!!! I cant describe it better!! Thank you for your explanation of what he developed!!! Blessings! !

I first saw of his passing from your video's thumbnail, then I checked the news... He really has passed away 😢😭 (it really froze your whole being when you found out about it...) Rock in Peace Eddie 😢🙏🎸

Out of all the musicians that have sadly passed away in 2020, Eddie's hit me real hard, just as Neil Pearts did

This is such a tremendous loss, as you said. It is almost unbelievable to me I live in a world without him. His influence and innovation was unmatched. Rest In Peace.

I feel similarly. I was never the biggest Van Halen fan and I only recently got into them but mother of god, Eddie Van Halen. 95% of modern rock music is owed to Eddie Van Halen. May he rest in shred.

I can really relate. It felt like I got hit by a truck going 30000mph when Lemmy passed away. He was my number 1 inspiration to play bass

Eddie Van Halen will always be one of the most influential people in the music world and be is without a doubt one the guitarists that influences me to play guitar

Very sad. Agreed with all sentiments here. Well said. Eddie lives on whenever a beginner learns to finger tap or when an advanced player attempts to learn something like I'm The One.

The greatest tribute to Eddie Thanks so much Eddie rip

Two answears because he changed the game for guitar players and he treated his fans incredibly. R.I.P Eddie Van Halen he will always be remeberd and never forgotten.

Fuckin legend. For guitar players, he changed the face of the earth from that first chord in eruption. I was born in 84. So they were already kicking. I remember being like 15. Me an my cuz were learning guitar. He put that on. All I can remember is being like. What is that? What the fuck is THAT? Rock in peace Eddie. Your tale will be told through the ages.

Beautiful video and call to action. Thank you.

I have gained respect for you for the fact you didn't monetize this video. Thank you for being honorable.

RIP EDDIE.. YOU SET THE BAR FOR ROCK N ROLL

My first ever concert in 2015...EVH lives forever...

great summary of EVH and his impact on rock guitar. Not sure if you dont know this or just plain forgot to include that fact that what he was doing on the guitar (tapping, harmonics, dive bombs, etc.) could not be transcribed with standard notation. Eddie alone was the inspiration for what we guitarists now take for granted as tablature. Tabs made it possible for millions of kids to be able to play their favorite guitarists licks and solos accurately. Myself included. There are a ton of amazing guitarists throughout history, but only two game changers...Hendrix and Van Halen. His impact cannot be ignored. R.I.P. EVH

This guy will always be my hero. Along with Hendrix. I was never alive during peak van halen, but when I discovered their music, I just couldn't stop listening to it. His solos and riffs were just so revolutionary. When you just hear a second, you know it's a van halen riff. I heard he relapsed this year, but you just never expect to see a legend die. Physically, at least. I don't think his legacy and music will ever be forgotten. Rip Eddie van halen. You won't be forgotten. Legend

I have to agree with you with the taking him for granted thing. I think I did as well. Then I heard the news yesterday and I kind of just sat there like wait a minute, this can’t happen. This can’t be real. It’s just really sad man

The reason he was the greatest, and he was the greatest Rock guitarist, was the fact that he never knew music theory and did not play traditional scales. Thank God, and he was the first to admit it. It came from his ear, he knew what it should sound like!!