Musicians We Lost In 2020

Few people, if any, played the electric guitar as masterfully — or as originally — as Eddie Van Halen did. As the chief creative force and namesake of the exceedingly popular and influential hard rock chart-toppers Van Halen in the '70s, '80s, and '90s, Van Halen wowed the masses with his two-handed "tapping" guitar technique that brought speed, precision, melody, and fun to his genre. First showing what he could do on "Eruption," an instrumental on Van Halen's self-titled 1978 debut album, Van Halen's technically proficient but also gritty guitar work fueled numerous rock classics like "Runnin' with the Devil," "Panama," "Hot for Teacher," and "Right Now." (Van Halen was also a very good pianist — his band's only #1 hit, "Jump," featured the guitarist on keyboards.)

Over the past two decades, Van Halen the guitarist struggled mightily with health problems. Per TMZ, he was diagnosed with throat cancer in the early 2000s and had to have a third of his tongue surgically removed. The musician received regular radiation treatments in Germany, but by 2020, the cancer had returned and spread to his brain and other organs. On October 6, 2020, Van Halen passed away at a hospital in Santa Monica, California, his wife Janie by his side as well as his bandmates — brother Alex Van Halen and son Wolfgang Van Halen. The guitar great was 65.

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