Billy Sheehan says fame didn’t matter to Edward Van Halen when it came to making friends in the music business.
Below is an excerpt from Greg Prato’s Ultimate Guitar article “Billy Sheehan Reveals How Eddie Van Halen Treated Him When He Was a ‘Nobody,’ Explains How Eddie Impacted His Career“:
The Van Halen member that Billy Sheehan will forever be tied closest to is David Lee Roth since he served as DLR’s bassist on his two best solo albums, 1986’s “Eat ‘Em and Smile” and 1988’s “Skyscraper.” However, it turns out that he also had a long-standing friendship with Eddie Van Halen.
During an interview with Marty5150, Sheehan recalled how his friendship with Eddie continued in the ensuing time period after his band, Talas, opened shows for Van Halen in 1980.
“He was the guy… When we lost him, it was tough on a lot of people,” Sheehan said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “It was tough on me, because he was always the light, the spark, he would take my phone call when I was nobody back in Buffalo.”
“I would call him, and he would hang with me on the phone and be encouraging. And he was really a huge factor in me continuing my forward drive to do something with my life and career. Just a wonderful guy.”