Credit: Jennifer Hammer Guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen said he discovered Eddie Van Halen thanks to Michael Jackson's "Beat It". In a new interview with RockSverige, Kotzen (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, Poison) recalled the time he first heard the sound of Eddie playing guitar. "I will never forget the first time I heard him, and this is how out of touch I was," said … [Read more...]
Autograph Guitarist Steve Lynch Talks Touring With Van Halen In 1984
Credit: Rudy Childs What's a "T-Shirt Band" and why was Autograph called one? Did Van Halen really tell Autograph's guitarist Steve Lynch he wasn't allowed to finger tap? Lynch had the answers to those questions and more during a recent interview. Lynch was a guest on Waste Some Time with Jason Green and shared stories of the time his band Autograph opened for Van … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ Hits #1 On This Week In 1984
Thirty seven years ago this week Van Halen’s "Jump" knocked Culture Club’s "Karma Chameleon" off the top of the charts and started a five week run at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. "Jump" was released a single on December 21st, 1983 and began its ascent atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart beginning on February 25th, 1984. It stayed there until the week of March 24th, … [Read more...]
An Appreciation Of Van Halen’s ‘1984’
Credit: Rudy Childs Entertainment Weekly has shared an excerpt of LIFE's recent special issue on Van Halen and it's all about the legendary album released 37 years ago - '1984': An Appreciation of Van Halen's '1984' by Entertainment Weekly & LIFE The year was MCMLXXXIV. Or, yes, 1984. On Jan. 9 of that year, in full command of their rock powers, Van … [Read more...]
Angus Young Looks Back On Good Times & Late-Night Call With Eddie Van Halen
Credit: Neil Zlozower AC/DC's Angus Young will always remember Eddie Van Halen as a man full of fire on stage, full of warmth off. "He was just all charm - full of warmth, happy to see me," Young recalled during a recent interview on the Talk is Jericho podcast. "At first, I was a bit shocked. I got this guy, he's talking like, 'You crazy motherfucker!', he's hugging … [Read more...]
WatchMojo Pays Tribute To Eddie Van Halen [VIDEO]
The YouTube channel WatchMojo paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen by highlighting his best career moments. In the video above WatchMojo takes a look at the accomplishments of Eddie by counting down his past appearances on: Top 10 Songs That Make You Want to Jump, Top 10 Iconic Guitars of All Time, Top 10 Musical Siblings, Top 10 Coolest Rock Vocal-Guitar Duos, Top 10 Most Insane … [Read more...]
Listen To Van Halen/Foo Fighters Mashup ‘Jump Like These’
It's times like these you might as well "Jump"! Check out this mashup just posted to YouTube by Pierre Dentale. In it he takes David Lee Roth's isolated vocals from Van Halen's "Jump" and lays it over the music of "Times Like These" from Foo Fighters. The result - "Jump Like These": Makes us wonder what it'd be like if David Lee Roth actually was the lead singer … [Read more...]
Documentarian Sam Dunn: ‘The Definitive Van Halen Story Is Yet To Be Told’
Credit: Neil Zlozower Canadian documentarian Sam Dunn says a Van Halen documentary remains the "Holy Grail" of stories yet to be told. Dunn (Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, Super Duper Alice Cooper) was asked by Death Angel's Ted Aguilar during an "Alive & Streaming" YouTube interview if he had a bucket list of documentary … [Read more...]
Loudersound Picks Out The Best Of Van Halen Album Catalogue
The staff at Loudersound has gone through their Van Halen album collection to highlight the ones they say are most worthy of a needle drop. "Van Halen albums have it all: One of the most innovative guitarists of all time, your choice of rock star frontmen, and some great tunes," writes Paul Elliott. "If ever a back catalogue epitomized the American Dream, it's the albums of … [Read more...]
The Van Halen Song That Should Have Been Number One [VIDEO]
Which Van Halen songs do you think should have gone to number one but didn't? If you said "Panama" you're in good company. The Professor of Rock hosts a series of videos devoted to the greatest classic rock artists of all time. In his most recent episode (above) he makes the argument for "Panama" as being the Van Halen song that should have topped the charts. "'Panama', … [Read more...]
Hear Never Before Heard Outtakes/Alternate Endings Of Early Van Halen Tracks [VIDEO]
Credit: Sunset Sound Recorders YouTube channel Sunset Sound continued its Van Halen November series with parts 2 and 2.5 of their interview with engineer Brian Kehew. This time Kehew takes us into the studio to hear never before heard outtakes and alternate endings of classic Van Halen tracks. Kehew was hired by Warner Bros. around 2005 as an independent contractor to … [Read more...]
Anthrax’s Scott Ian Calls Eddie Van Halen ‘The John Lennon And Paul McCartney Of Hard Rock’
Credit: Scott Ian's Instagram page Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian has paid Eddie Van Halen the ultimate tribute by saying his musical skills were those of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney combined. Ian talked about Eddie's legacy during a recent appearance on Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast. "There's not a bad song from 'Van Halen I' to '1984' -- for me, … [Read more...]