The great Eddie Van Halen died today at age 65.
From the NY Times:
Mr. Van Halen's son, Wolfgang, said in a statement that his father had "lost his long and arduous battle with cancer."
Mr. Van Halen's razzle-dazzle approach made him the most influential guitarist of his generation. He structured his solos in roughly the same way Macy's choreographs its Independence Day fireworks shows, shooting rockets of sound into the air that seemed to explode in a shower of light and color. His outpouring of riffs, runs, and solos was hyperactive and athletic, joyous and wry, making deeper or darker emotions feel irrelevant.
Van Halen's cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" was featured in the greatest movie of all time, Over the Edge.
