Six years ago today, we lost Edward Van Halen.
The passing years haven’t diminished his presence. Eddie is still with us every time we hear the music, pick up a guitar, see those unmistakable stripes, or watch another generation discover what made him unlike anyone who came before him.
Today, we’re revisiting one of our favorite tributes to Edward, created by fellow Van Halen fan Gair Maxwell. It celebrates not only the extraordinary musician Eddie was, but the qualities that made him truly one of a kind: his creativity, curiosity, relentless dedication to his craft, and willingness to always push beyond what had been done before.
On this sixth anniversary of his passing, we hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch it again and celebrate the remarkable life and legacy of Edward Van Halen.
Rest in peace, King Edward…
Transcript:
Mozart, Beethoven, Elvis, Hendrix, Van Halen. Few musicians have their names forever etched into our collective memories. This is exclusive territory reserved only for the exceptions who broke every rule – masters of the highest magnitude.
Whether you were a fan of the Mighty Van Halen or not, this tribute to the legendary guitarist may offer three things that just might inspire the body of work you are trying to compose for your career.
More than anything, number one, first and foremost, Eddie Van Halen created his own undeniable category of one. Not only with the sounds and the solos, but also with the way he literally reinvented and rebranded his instrument. He may not have originated finger tapping per se. However, he was the first to showcase this explosive technique with flash and pash, a veritable eruption of dive-bombing solos – a lethal combination of mad science and sonic virtuosity.
No one else had ever created that combination of operatic influence with a pyrotechnic attack that redefined the sound of the electric guitar.
I think one of the things that first hooked me as a teenager would have been seeing how Eddie Van Halen built his own instruments. That now-famous Frankenstrat with hammer, chisel, and chainsaw. He would combine different guitar necks and bodies and pickups before reassembling them and spray painting them with these wild, colorful striped designs. And so whether it was the explosive guest solo on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”, or using a power drill to announce the opening of “Poundcake”, Eddie Van Halen created a look and sound that was completely original, not like anybody else.
Secondly, Eddie Van Halen was a student of his craft. Now with a nod to Malcolm Gladwell, Eddie had already put in his 10,000 hours of practice even before he was a teenager, many lonely nights alone in his bedroom, endlessly perfecting his craft. Pursuing excellence, not fame. And for all of us natural gifts, no one can ever say that Eddie Van Halen didn’t put in the 100,000 hours of relentless, lonely work far away from the spotlight. And I believe it was this unadulterated love for his instrument and his profession that translated into the playful way that he performed. That ear-to-ear boyish smile. Always the young gunslinger. As he’s ripping through the power cords of “Unchained” or any of his ridiculously sick solos. See, at 65, Eddie Van Halen was still a kid at heart. He was still letting his six-year-old out to play, and that’s how the eternal student became master.
And thirdly, Eddie Van Halen was always willing to experiment. Through six albums with David Lee Roth as the frontman, Van Halen became the biggest band in the world, but Eddie was always determined to see where else they could take the music beyond the hard rock genre. So, against the objections of Roth and almost everybody at the record company, Eddie was insistent on using keyboards as the signature sound for Jump, which became the biggest hit they ever had, through the course of selling 80 million albums.
Stop and think about it. The greatest guitar hero of his generation was willing to bet the farm on an entirely different instrument. It was the level of experimentation never seen from guitar gods like Hendrix, Clapton, or Jimmy Page.
And after the flamboyant Roth left the band, the experimentation continued with the arrival of the second lead singer, Sammy Hagar. The chainsaw rock sound expanded into more melodic influences that inspired hits like “When It’s Love”, and “Dreams”, and the iconic “Right Now”. So with Hagar capable of going in more directions musically and vocally, Eddie could compose the kind of music that allowed Van Halen’s older and more musically sophisticated audience to grow with them, so no one would miss the beat and lose the rhythm.
You see, experimentation kept Van Halen relevant for more than two decades, in a highly competitive industry, with two different lead singers. For any business leader watching, or if you’re trying to build a career, anyone can be inspired by Eddie Van Halen’s enduring body of work. How determined are you to be an undeniable category of one? Are you going to be one of a kind, or one of a million in the specific industry or category that you’re competing in? How much further can you push the boundaries and experiment in the pursuit of excellence? And will you remain the student, deeply in love with your craft, who isn’t afraid to let the six-year-old out to play and have fun with what you do because that kind of passion only ever happens for those who are absolutely committed and believe in what they’re doing? That’s how you conquer imposter syndrome and push through all the fears and self-doubt that goes with it. And you only earn that by actually doing the work. By putting in your 10,000 hours.
You see, for me, since 1978, Van Halen has been The Beatles, The Stones, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Purple, Elvis, and Sinatra all rolled up into one. And so when you feel like you’ve been there from the beginning and watching how everybody else wants some, it was just such a ride and such a joy to see them go from the opening act to becoming global megastars.
Eddie’s gift did create more than a little bit of heaven right here on earth. Incomparable talent, tireless work ethic, unimaginable virtuosity. He now plays for the Angels.
Thank you, Eddie Van Halen.
We want to thank Gair Maxwell for his heartfelt video! He’s an international keynote speaker and author, and you can follow him at GairMaxwell.com, YouTube, and Facebook.