When Van Halen closed out their 2015 North American tour with two performances at the Hollywood Bowl, on October 2 and October 4, we had no idea that these would be Eddie Van Halen's final live performances ever.
Sadly, the guitar hero succumbed to throat cancer yesterday, October 6, at the age of 65, leaving behind an unparalleled legacy that reshaped rock guitar playing and the guitar itself.
Eddie's enthusiasm for the instrument never waned – nor did his skills. If you need any evidence of this, check out his electrifying, brain-melting, near-10-minute solos from each the band's two Hollywood Bowl performances.
You can check out the October 2 solo above, and the October 4 solo below.
The guitar has truly lost one of its greatest ambassadors.
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
