Gene Simmons (Kiss) Shares Heartbreaking Tribute To Eddie Van Halen
Gene Simmons pays emotional tribute to his late friend Eddie Van Halen
The death of Eddie Van Halen, this Tuesday (6th of October 2020), at the age of 65, took the world by surprise. Kiss vocalist and bassist Gene Simmons, who worked as a producer for the band Van Halen early in their career, showed immense sadness when talking about the news in a video posted on social media.
With a shaky voice and apparently holding back tears, Gene Simmons declared, "I just found out that Eddie Van Halen passed away. I am heartbroken. He was not just a guitar god to millions of people, but also a gentle soul. What can I say? Rest in peace".
Simmons said in several interviews that he once had to convince Eddie not to leave Van Halen. Asked in the April 2014 edition of Guitar World whether it was true that the guitarist wanted to join Kiss at the time of the 1982 Creatures Of The Night album. Simmons said: “It is true. And he was very serious and was unhappy about how he and David Lee Roth were - or weren't - getting along ... He said to me, 'I want to join Kiss. I don't want to fight with Roth anymore. I'm tired of this'. But I said, 'Eddie, there is not enough space. You need to be in a band where you can run the music. You will not be happy in Kiss ’. I convinced him not to do that ”.
Watch the full video below:
David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar also went on social media to pay tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen.
Singer David Lee Roth used his social media accounts to speak out about the loss of Eddie Van Halen, who died on Tuesday (06), aged 65, after a battle with cancer. Roth published a photo of him next to Eddie behind the scenes of a performance by the band and included a simple caption. Last July, Roth said he did not know whether Van Halen would return to touring and did not know whether Eddie would be able to get back on the road.
David Lee Roth shared the following message:
“What a Long Great Trip It’s Been..”
See the full post below:
Former vocalist Sammy Hagar also had some emotional words, shortly after the announcement of the death of the founder of Van Halen to invade social networks. "I'm heartbroken and speechless," said the singer, sending his feelings to the family.
Sammy Hagar wrote the following on his Instagram page:
“Heartbroken and speechless. My love to the family.”
See the full post below:
Eddie Van Halen has passed away at 65 years old. The Legendary guitar player was battling with throat cancer for several years and, now according to TMZ, the iconic musician unfortunately died.
Eddie Van Halen was battling with throat cancer for several time now and according to TMZ, he died at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica Tuesday. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with his son, Wolfgang, and Alex, Eddie's brother and drummer.
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, was born in Nimegue, January 26, 1955 and was an American guitarist, composer and music producer.
Eddie was the co-founder of the band Van Halen and had been elected elected the best guitarist of all time, by the Guitar World magazine, and named the 8th best guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
Sources told TMZ that Eddie had been in and out of hospital over the past few months - including last November for intestinal issues -- and recently underwent a round of chemo.
Eddie’s son has already shared a heartfelt message on his official Twitter account:
“I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning. He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.”
See the full tweet by Wolf Van Halen below:
Van Halen were formed in 1972 and became one of the biggest bands ever. Eddie was the guitarist. The lead singer was David Lee Roth.
Eddie Van Halen was born in the Netherlands and moved to California as a child, in 1967.
Amid a family of professional musicians (his parents played at wedding parties) he took piano lessons early on. Soon, however, Eddie would switch piano to play drums and guitar.
In 1974, with vocalist David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony (who had sung in a band called Redball Jet) he formed the band Mammoth (whose name would change to Van Halen when they discovered that there was already another band called Mammoth).
With a repertoire that mixed pop-rock, hard-rock covers and some of their own compositions, they quickly became the most popular band on the Los Angeles club circuit. Despite the explosive stage performances of vocalist David Lee Roth the highlight of the band was another.
Eddie Van Halen began to stand out from the rest of the team with his own technique of playing the guitar, hitting the notes on his arm by hammering the strings with both hands and creating techniques that would later become known as tapping, hammer-ons and pull-offs. Van Halen's speed and accuracy were unheard of until then. Eddie Van Halen would soon become one of the most influential modern guitarists.
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