Watch George Lynch Salute Eddie Van Halen – on a Les Paul
Lynch jammed on "Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love" during a recent appearance at the Dallas International Guitar Festival.
Though, as fellow Sunset Strip shredders re-writing the rock guitar book in the mid-to-late '70s, George Lynch and Eddie Van Halen were sometimes portrayed as something like competitors, the two maestros had great respect for one another.
This reverence was on clear display during Lynch's recent performance at the Dallas International Guitar Festival on May 1, in the middle of which Lynch broke out into an impromptu rendition of Van Halen’s "Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love."
You can check out fan-filmed footage of the tribute above.
Interestingly, Lynch – primarily an ESP user – tackles the tune with a Les Paul that, granted, doesn't quite sound fully in tune. Nevertheless, Lynch gets some hot, soulful licks and octave runs in there considering it was a performance that – as the user who uploaded the video points out in its comments section – was a one-off gig with a local rhythm section and no prior rehearsal or set-list.
"In remembrance of our fallen brother, who is one of the greatest inspirations of my personal guitar journey," Lynch says to the crowd at song's end.
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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.