From Guitar World:
We recently asked you to guess which artist has made the most Guitar World cover appearances.
You guessed Jimi Hendrix — but the correct answer is none other than Eddie Van Halen. Since 1981, Van Halen’s likeness has appeared on the cover of Guitar World 26 times. That beats runner-up Jimmy Page by a whole four issues.
Of course, this makes sense. Since Van Halen exploded onto the scene with their eponymous 1978 debut album — featuring the jaw-dropping, virtuosic masterpiece “Eruption” — no other guitarist has so revolutionized how the electric guitar is played. He pioneered the shred phenomenon, tapping, homemade guitar craftsmanship and brought the Floyd Rose locking nut tremolo to prominence. Not to mention, he’s a bad-ass player.
Arguably, Van Halen’s reign of influence might even exceed that of Hendrix, who places third with 18 cover appearances.
For those of you counting — or just interested in seeing how EVH stole the show — here is a gallery of all the GW covers he has appeared on. No doubt, there will be many more to come in the future.