Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
The wordvirtuosoisnt used lightly to describe musical and artistic genius.
Their early years were tough.
Naturally, the next step once they had this grounding was forming a band.
As we got a little older, we started playing drums and guitar, he told the WashingtonTimes.
We used to play gigs with my dad.
Everything from weddings to bar mitzvahs and oomph music.
That musical voracity would become a boon when the Van Halen brothers became more serious about their own music.
These free-spirited concerts went a long way to explain Van Halens future success.
I could never emulate other peoples playing a blessing in disguise.
It helped that Eddie Van Halen was also determined to manifest his own unique sounds.
Watching him do that kind of stuff instilled a curiosity in me.
If something doesnt do what you want it to, theres always a way to fix it.
He started playing guitar as a teen while still studying piano and was a natural at the instrument.
Below are just six of the late musicians most influential guitar solos, among many.
Everybody Wants Some!!
The bands songs were often structured like conversations.
Everybody Wants Some!!
I listened to the song, and I immediately go, Can I change some parts?
Van Halen toldCNNin 2012.
Took him maybe ten minutes to put it together.
And I proceeded to improvise two solos over it.
Jackson wasnt mad; to the contrary, he loved the results.
Beat It was a massive cross-genre success.
14 on the rock charts.
That was none more obvious than on the U.S. No.
Both are indelible moments.
Right Now (1991)
Want to start an online argument?
Fire up a debate over whether David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar is the better Van Halen front man.
Hagar served as vocalist from 1986s5150through 1995sBalance, an epoch that coincided with one of mainstream rocks biggest evolutions.
To say that polarized fans is an understatement.
