Why Eddie Van Halen said his influence “pisses me off”
One of the most influential guitarists of all time, Eddie Van Halen made such a mark on music that his character is noticed in genres far removed from the hard rock and heavy metal in which he made his name. A technical master who brought string tapping to the masses with the 1978 instrumental ‘Eruption’, Van Halen will forever be regarded as amongst the finest virtuosos, rubbing shoulders with Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page.
The guitarist once even named Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page as a hero, telling Guitar World in 2011 that one of the British band’s songs gave him the idea to dive into the world of string tapping. Van Halen said: “I think I got the idea of tapping watching Jimmy Page do his ‘Heartbreaker’ solo back in 1971. He was doing a pull-off to an open string, and I thought, wait a minute, open string … pull off. I can do that, but what if I use my finger as the nut and move it around? I just kind of took it and ran with it.”
Elsewhere, it was reported that Van Halen credited Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett as an influence on his famous technique, an interesting point as he is widely credited to have been the figure who first used tapping extensively. When pressed on this matter, Hacket told Music Radar in 2012: “Eddie and I have never spoken about it, but yes, he has credited me with tapping… Eddie is a fine player, of course, and he’s the one who named the technique.”
It reflects Van Halen’s influence that he even affected Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, who wishes he could play like him. He said: “I can’t play like Eddie Van Halen. I wish I could. I sat down to try some of those ideas, and I can’t do it. I don’t know if I could ever get any of that stuff together. Sometimes I think I should work at the guitar more. I play every day, but I don’t consciously practice scales or anything in particular.”
Despite having such a wide-reaching effect on the world of guitar playing, Van Halen – who passed away in 2020 – was always a realist. When speaking to Music UK in 1983, it was suggested that he “must” have been able to perceive his impact on guitar players.
“I guess so,” was Van Halen’s initial response before touching on the range of emotions it evokes, which ranged from “sometimes pisses me off” to making him feel positive. This was because he never tried to be such a hero; he just happened to do something other people liked.
Van Halen said: “Yeah, I guess so. Every time I put the radio on nowadays, I hear a lot of me. Sometimes it pisses me off; sometimes, it makes me feel good. I just don’t think about it. I try and move forward — or backward. Whatever works. It’s not planned, I just do what I like to do, and it just happens other people like it too.”
Watch Eddie Van Halen in action below.
