Eddie van halen biography videos

(1955-2020)

Who Was Eddie Van Halen?

Guitarist and singer Eddie Van Halen formed the band Van Halen in 1974 with his brother Alex. His quick-fingered guitar riffs and singer David Lee Roth's onstage antics caught the eye of Kiss guitarist Gene Simmons in 1977, and he funded and produced their first recording session.

The band's sixth album, 1984, featured smash hits "Panama" and "Jump," and made the hard rock quartet and household name.

Early Years

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was born on January 26, 1955, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and moved with his family to California in the early 1960s.

While growing up in Pasadena, Eddie and his brother, Alex, took classical piano lessons, playing mostly improvised classical, and Eddie, in particular, proved to be an early musical standout. As teenagers, Eddie switched to guitar and Alex to drums, leaving classical music behind and starting a rock band called Mammoth.

In 1974, the Van Halen broth