Former WHITESNAKE guitarist Adrian Vandenberg has paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen, who died on Tuesday (October 6) at the age of 65. The legendary VAN HALEN guitarist died at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with his son, Wolfgang, and Alex, Eddie‘s brother and VAN HALEN drummer.

Adrian wrote on Instagram: “As everybody will have heard or read by now Eddie (Edward) Van Halen passed away yesterday.

“What a huge loss. Without a doubt one of the absolute greatest and most influential musicians of all time. Millions of guitar players, in the rock field or not, have been influenced by his playing, directly or indirectly. In that respect he was the natural successor to Jimi Hendrix in my opinion, a true pioneer.

“There are so many elements and colours to Eddie‘s playing; blues, rock, jazz and classical and that whole cocktail bounces out of the speakers, always sparkling with an incredibly dynamic expressiveness. For a player who was seen as a ‘rock guitarist’ his playing smoothly transcended all genres, proven by Eddie‘s fluid solo in Michael Jackson‘s ‘Beat It’. Eddie made it seem so effortless, always with that endearing, almost childish smile on his face he’d play stunning solos with an amazing, rock solid sense of timing. I’ve always felt that because of his explosive solo’s his fantastic, tasteful rhythm playing has often been overlooked. His choice and placement of chords, untwined with tasty, fluid licks are just as unique as his solos. I could go on and on.

“Edward Van Halen has a more than well deserved top spot in music history among the all time greats and leaves behind a timeless body of work as a musician, composer and performer. One of a kind.

“R.I.P. Eddie, you’ll never be forgotten..

“P.S. Dammit…#eddievanhalen #eddievanhalenrip”.

Eddie died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

The guitarist was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000 and had tongue surgery. He was later diagnosed with throat cancer and reportedly had been receiving radiation treatment in Germany.

Vandenberg was a member of WHITESNAKE for 13 years at the height of the band’s fame, contributing the solo on the group’s No. 1 hit “Here I Go Again”.

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As everybody will have heard or read by now Eddie(Edward) Van Halen passed away yesterday. What a huge loss.. Without a doubt one of the absolute greatest and most influential musicians of all time. Millions of guitar players, in the rock field or not, have been influenced by his playing, directly or indirectly. In that respect he was the natural successor to Jimi Hendrix in my opinion, a true pioneer. There are so many elements and colours to Eddie’s playing; blues, rock, jazz and classical and that whole cocktail bounces out of the speakers, always sparkling with an incredibly dynamic expressiveness. For a player who was seen as a ‘rock guitarist’ his playing smoothly transcended all genres, proven by Eddie’s fluid solo in Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’. Eddie made it seem so effortless, always with that endearing, almost childish smile on his face he’d play stunning solos with an amazing, rock solid sense of timing. I’ve always felt that because of his explosive solo’s his fantastic, tasteful rhythm playing has often been overlooked. His choice and placement of chords, untwined with tasty, fluid licks are just as unique as his solos. I could go on and on.. Edward Van Halen has a more than well deserved top spot in music history among the all time greats and leaves behind a timeless body of work as a musician, composer and performer. One of a kind. R.I.P. Eddie, you’ll never be forgotten.. P.S. Dammit…?#eddievanhalen #eddievanhalenrip

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