MYLES KENNEDY Says EDDIE VAN HALEN And JIMI HENDRIX Are The Reason He Picked Up A Guitar

October 20, 2020

ALTER BRIDGE frontman Myles Kennedy has reflected on the passing of Eddie Van Halen, calling him ""the king" of guitar players. The legendary VAN HALEN axeman died on October 6 at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer.

Speaking to Terrie Carr of the Morristown, New Jersey radio station 105.5 WDHA, Kennedy stated about Van Halen (see video below): "I know [Eddie's son] Wolfie way better, and the handful of interactions I had with his father were profound for me, because, at the end of the day, he and Jimmy Page are the reason that I picked up a guitar.

"What's interesting is when you see how people on social media… I've never seen just a wall of post after post of people expressing what he meant to them," he continued. "It's really pretty beautiful in that sense. And I thought with Wolfie, and how people are showing their support for him, it shows the humanity. To see all these fans going to Wolfie and just being there, I think that's beautiful.

"I love Wolfie. He's a special person, and geez, people have no idea how talented that guy is. Obviously, he plays bass. You should hear him play the drums. Woah! I mean, he can go off. I've talked with people who've seen him play the guitar, and he's got his dad's genes.

"As far as the loss of Eddie Van Halen, he was the king," Myles added. "And the next day, I got in my car and I put on 'Van Halen I' and I just drove — I just drove and listened. And, you know, hats off."

Eddie died at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with Wolfgang, and Alex, Eddie's brother and VAN HALEN drummer.

The iconic VAN HALEN axeman died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

Find more on Alter bridge
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).