Once again we find ourselves preempting our regularly scheduled programming to bring you some more sad news about the loss of another one of our musical heroes.
The news of the death of Eddie Van Halen, guitar wizard and founder of the band that bore his name, spread quickly on Tuesday afternoon. Eddie had been battling cancer for some time ... over twenty years in various forms and stages ... yet his death still seemed sudden and unexpected.
Although the music of Van Halen only borderline figured into the usual landscape of the type of music we typically cover in Forgotten Hits, there was no escaping these guys.
Right from the get-go, they burst on the scene in 1978 with their cover of The Kinks' classic "You Really Got Me" (#36)
A year later, "Dance The Night Away" bested that with a #15 showing ... and, in 1982, they hit pay dirt twice more with their remakes of the '60's classics "Oh, Pretty Woman" (#12) and "Dancing In The Street" (#38)
Lead vocalist David Lee Roth may have dominated the visual spotlight in their many memorable videos (the band was born at JUST the right moment for MTV exposure), but there was no mistaking the guitar prowess of young Eddie. (Yes, Sammy Hagar also famously took a turn at fronting the band ... but for many of us, Diamond David was the true face ... and sound ... of Van Halen.)
They dominated the classic rock stations before such a term even existed with great album cuts like "Hot For Teacher," "Jamie's Crying," "Beautiful Girls," "And The Cradle Will Rock," "Runnin' With The Devil" and more. (In fact, Van Halen placed 22 titles on our TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK TRACKS OF ALL TIME List last year ... and seven of those made The Top 500.)
https://classicrockessentials.blogspot.com/
They scored their first and only #1 Record with "Jump" in 1984 ... but would hit The Top Ten twice more with "Why Can't This Be Love" in 1985 and "When It's Love" in 1988. (Eddie also performed the lead guitar solo on the Michael Jackson #1 Hit "Beat It," which won a Grammy for Record Of The Year.) Five of their albums would top Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart.
Eddie made headlines when he married TV star Valerie Bertinelli in 1981. Their son Wolfgang made the announcement on social media:
I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning.
He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift.
My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.
I love you so much, Pop.
Suffering from various forms of cancer for several years, doctors say it had spread to his brain and other organs, ultimately consuming him.
Van Halen was loved and admired by his peers ... and you will see an outpouring of that love and appreciation in the days to come.
Also passing away on Tuesday was singer Johnny Nash, whose career dated back to the late 1950's.
He enjoyed his greatest success between 1968 and 1973 when he hit The Top 20 three times with "Hold Me Tight" (#4, 1968), "I Can See Clearly Now" (#1, 1972) and "Stir It Up" (#11, 1973)
Although he was born in Houston, Texas, Nash took on a Ska / Reggae personna, covering songs written by everyone from Bob Marley to Sam Cooke! (Nash was one of the first non-Jamaican singers to record in Kingston, Jamaica.)
All yesterday's sad news comes on the heels of the passing of Helen Reddy and Mac Davis last week ... and Tommy DeVito, founding member of The Four Seasons, the week before.
A rough couple of weeks indeed.
The world has lost its number one guitar hero - Eddie Van Halen.
Eddie was a brilliant and practiced technical wizard, pioneering so many techniques of tapping, shredding and harmonics. But more than even that, he was the consummate musician with a melodic mind that always held sway over pointless overkill. You could actually sing his lead lines.
He will be missed by everyone within the wail of his Charvell.
Jim Peterik
Wow, just seeing that Eddie Van Halen died of cancer today at 65. That seems a shock because he SEEMED like he would be ten years younger than me, not two years older. Not a HUGE fan of Van Halen, but he was a great guitarist, no lie.
And NOW, I see that Johnny Nash passed away today, too!
He was a star for decades whether he had lots of hits all the time or not. "Hold Me Tight" was a 1969 goodie and of course, his days on Epic.
Clark Besch
Johnny Nash charted an incredible 25 TIMES before he had his first Top Ten Hit!
A couple along the way stirred up some interest ... (did you see what I just did there?) ...
"A Very Special Love" went to #15 in Music Vendor in 1958 (#23 in Billboard) and the record he made with his ABC-Paramount labelmates Paul Anka and George Hamilton IV, "The Teen Commandments" reached #29 in 1958. But then he really wouldn't come close to hitting pay dirt again until late 1968 when "Hold Me Tight" became a Top Five Single. ("I Can See Clearly Now" was another one of those #1 oddities ... a week at #1 in both Cash Box and Record World ... but FOUR weeks on top of The Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart. As such, it kept Elvis' "Burnin' Love," "I'll Be Around" By The Spinners and Lobo's "I'd Love You To Want Me" from ever reaching the summit in "the music bible.") kk
Just two days ago I chatted with reggae music scholar and author / broadcaster Roger Steffens about Johnny Nash. Roger stressed that Nash was a seminal figure to Bob Marley as a songwriter and detailed how Nash was involved in an early part of Bob's songwriting music publishing and career and wrote "Stir It Up," which Marley and The Wailers recorded and performed.
At one of Phil Spector's bowling parties in 2000, I introduced Phil to Roger Steffens and we had a brief chat about reggae. I know Phil had seen Bob Marley & the Wailers at a 1976 or '77 Roxy Theater show and met Bob afterwards. I went to a slew of Marley and Wailer shows at the Roxy.
At the party Phil volunteered that he'd co-written songs for Johnny Nash and produced some sides on him for ABC-Paramount Records in 1961.
Phil had first met Nash, and songwriter Tommy Boyce, during an Army physical examination. We were all required to at age 18 to register and get draft cards at one of the Federal buildings.
I think Phil produced a cover version of "Hold Me Tight." Maybe with John Lennon as a demo.
The day Duke Ellington died in 1974 I was at Columbia Records on Sunset Blvd. Johnny Nash and I shared an elevator ride. I nodded. He was on the label, on the charts and smiling. Not the time to mention or ask about an UK 1972 tour he did with the Wailers, seeing him as a young man on "The Arthur Godfrey Show," or when he had a scene in some western movie which I saw on television as a kid.
Harvey Kubernik
Romeo Delight is mourning the loss of a true American Legend. Eddie was the most talented musician who has touched and shaped the world of music like no other. Romeo Delight has always showcased his talent and will continue to play his music and honor his legacy with our performances.
The world has lost a Guitar Hero and we are all saddened by this news. You fought long and hard, Eddie.
Thank you for the music and the memories.
We love you and will continue to play your music forever. Rest in Peace.
– Buddh Blanch / leader of Romeo Delight (the ultimate Van Halen tribute band)
ROMEO DELIGHT FACTS:
*Romeo Delight is the #1 most viewed Van Halen tribute on YouTube and is the first Van Halen tribute band to specialize in the David Lee Roth era.
*Roth selected Romeo Delight’s video for his radio-show in 2006, The Roth Show.
*A postponed East Coast-tour has been re-scheduled for 2021 including shows at The Cutting Room in NYC and My Father’s Place in Long Island.
ROCKERS REMEMBER EDDIE VAN HALEN:
A nice tribute to both artists can be found here:
