Sad day for music as Eddie Van Halen passes away

The guitar ace Eddie Van Halen, whose acrobatic playing and pop-minded composition anchored the rock band that bore his last name for over 40 years, has died of cancer. His son and bandmate Wolfgang announced on social media yesterday (October 6). He was 65. 

Van Halen is among the top 20 best-selling artists of all time, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen at No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

Van Halen’s music has appeared in films as varied as “Superbad,” “Minions” and “Sing” as well as TV shows like “Glee” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Video games such as “Gran Turismo 4” and “Guitar Hero” have used his riffs. Their song “Jamie’s Cryin” was sampled by rapper Tone Loc in his hit “Wild Thing.”

Almost everyone has been touched by the music of Van Halen at some stage of their life. Whether that was the amazing guitar playing or the iconic tunes. This is the group behind late-'70s/early '80s iconic rock-radio staples "Runnin' with the Devil," "Dance the Night Away," "Hot for Teacher," "Panama," and what became their first-ever No. 1 single, "Jump." Eddie wrote that song's iconic peppy synthesizer line, though he was most well-known for his mastery of the electric guitar. 

Eddie also played the guitar solo in Michael Jackson's equally iconic "Beat It,".

RIP guitar God.