EDDIE VAN HALEN - born on January 26th, 1955

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen (January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020)

Born in Amsterdam to Jan (a Dutch jazz musician) and Eugenia (an Indonesian woman from Java), Eddie and his family moved to Pasadena, California, in 1962. Arriving with just $50 and a piano, Eddie and his brother Alex didn't speak English and were often bullied as "minority" students. They found their voice through music, though not in the way their parents expected.

Eddie was a child prodigy, but a rebellious one. Although he began piano at age six and won three consecutive competitions at Long Beach City College (1964–1967), he never actually learned to read music. Instead, he would watch his teacher's hands during recitals of Bach and Mozart and simply improvise by ear. While his parents hoped for a classical career, Eddie was captivated by the "British Invasion." His world was blown wide open by bands like The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, and especially the "mind-blowing" sounds of Cream.

In a twist that changed music history, the roles were originally reversed: Alex started on the guitar; Eddie bought a drum kit. One day, Eddie heard Alex play the drum solo from "Wipe Out" and realized his brother was a natural behind the kit. They swapped, and Eddie began a lifelong obsession with the electric guitar. As a teenager, he was so dedicated that he would practice for hours with his bedroom door locked or walk around his house with his guitar strapped on.

Eddie’s style was a unique cocktail of his influences. He famously learned every Eric Clapton solo note-for-note but admitted that Jimmy Page’s "reckless abandon" was closer to his own spirit. He eventually pioneered the two-handed tapping technique, allowing him to play lightning-fast arpeggios that earned him the #1 spot in Guitar World's list of greatest guitarists.

From his first fourth-grade performance with "The Broken Combs" to selling over 80 million records worldwide, Eddie never lost that sense of wonder. As he said himself at the Smithsonian in 2015: "We came here with $50 and a piano... Now look where we are. If that’s not the American dream, what is?" (This information is from Wikipedia)

Van Halen - On Fire (Demo) (1976)