When rock legend Eddie Van Halen died of cancer on October 6, 2020, the entire world seemed to stop and grieve. Since his band Van Halen burst onto the scene with their self-titled debut album in 1978, Eddie had been hailed as an icon not only to fans of rock music and heavy metal, but to performers across all genres and around the world. Van Halen’s debut sounded unlike anything that listeners had heard before and remains a quintessential rock album of the era.

Over the course of more than four decades, Eddie gained renown for his innovative guitar playing, and particularly for popularizing the tapping guitar solo technique. Unfortunately for Eddie and his legions of fans, he died before he was ever able to put his life down to paper in his own words, and much of his compelling backstory has remained elusive—until now.

In "Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen", music journalists Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill share with fans, new and old alike, a candid, compulsively readable, and definitive oral history of the most influential rock guitarist since Jimi Hendrix. It is based on more than 50 hours of unreleased interviews they recorded with Eddie over the years, most of them conducted at the legendary 5150 studios at Eddie’s home in Los Angeles. The heart of "Eruption" is drawn from these intimate and wide-ranging talks, as well as conversations with family, friends, and colleagues.

In addition to discussing his greatest triumphs as a groundbreaking musician, the book also takes an unflinching look at Eddie’s early struggles as a young Dutch immigrant unable to speak the English language, which resulted in lifelong issues with social anxiety and substance abuse. "Eruption"also examines his brilliance as an inventor who changed the face of guitar manufacturing.

As entertaining as it is revealing, "Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen" is the closest readers will ever get to hearing his side of the story when it comes to his extraordinary life.

Brad Tolinski was the Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine, the best-selling magazine for musicians in the world, for over 25 years. He is also the author of "Light & Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page" and "Play it Loud: An Epic History of the Style", "Sound and Revolution of the Electric Guitar", which was the inspiration for the Play It Loud exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2019. He lives in New York.

Chris Gill was the Editor-in-Chief of Guitar Aficionado magazine and a regular contributor to Guitar World magazine. He is also the author of "Guitar Legends: The Definitive Guide to the World’s Greatest Guitar Players", and he contributed extensive guitar background and historical text to "Eric Clapton’s Six String Stories" and "Jeff Beck’s Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll".

Read Chris Gill's Guitar World article on the origins of Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar: https://www.guitarworld.com/features/eddie-van-halen-frankenstein-origins

Purchase a copy of "Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen" through the Van Halen Store: https://www.vanhalenstore.com

For the latest Van Halen news, features and more, visit the Van Halen News Desk website: https://www.vhnd.com

Listen to a playlist of the music discussed in this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2t7dYwnKeWh1A0dv2TAPV1?si=1aaa563bcb5b4218


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