The guitar has been a ubiquitous element of popular music for eight decades, but the number of players who have fundamentally changed the way it is played can probably be counted on two hands. In my opinion, Eddie Van Halen was the last guitarist to achieve that distinction.
Van Halen was in the middle of a tour promoting its first album when my Guitar Player colleague and buddy Jas Obrecht and I caught up with them opening for Aerosmith and Pat Travers at a Day On The Green in the Oakland Coliseum. Like everyone, we had been stunned by "Eruption" and were anxious to see Eddie in action. His sizzling performance upstaged everyone that day (and for years to come). After the band's performance, we went backstage, where Eddie gladly posed and Jas got the first Van Halen interview.
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