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Eddie Van Halen’s opinion on Led Zeppelin
One of the greatest guitar heroes of all time, the late Eddie Van Halen changed the course of guitar playing when his band’s debut album was released in the late '70s. His technique intrigued millions of musicians around the world, many of whom couldn’t figure out how he played the way he did in the beginning.
It was a major evolution in Hard Rock music, which had gained traction just a few years earlier. Throughout his career, Eddie spoke about many of the key Hard Rock bands that came before, one of them being Led Zeppelin.
What was Eddie Van Halen's opinion on Led Zeppelin
Eddie liked Led Zeppelin, and Van Halen even covered many of their songs during the years they were still playing in bars. The band was crucial to his development as a guitar player, and as a matter of fact, if he hadn't seen them live in the early 70s, his technique as a guitarist might have been quite different. It was after watching Jimmy Page perform 'Heartbreaker' that he learned something new. "I saw Led Zeppelin back in, I think it was '70, '71, something like that, and Jimmy Page had his arm up in the air. He was doing pull-offs on the G string, or the B string and I said, wait a minute, and I took my right hand, and I put it where the nut is, and I just moved it up, and kept going up the neck."
"So I used my right index finger as the nut, like a capo. Then I reversed it, and I used my index finger of my left hand as the nut, and the finger on my right hand is now just an extension of another finger on my left hand. That's where it came from. It's funny, cause I watch other people do it, and I guess it's just been part of my playing for so long, and as you hold the neck."
He continued:
"It's not like my right hand is tapping, I'm actually pulling off just like I would with my left hand, you know what I'm saying? And I don't know why they call them hammer-ons, cause I'm not hammering it. It's just like if you're doing a trill with your left hand, I'm just adding my right hand to it," Eddie Van Halen told Fuzz magazine in 1998.
The musician told the same story in an interview for Zócalo in 2017 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) and said he never said he invented the tapping technique. "Before the internet, nobody could search things and whatever. (People say) 'Oh Eddie Van Halen didn't invent tapping and pull hammer-ons and pull-offs!' I never claimed that I did. But I do know how and when I figured out how to do it. On top of that I never really heard anybody do with it what I do which is actual pieces of music. I'll never forget, Alex (Van Halen) and I used to go to every concert at The Forum in L.A. and Led Zeppelin is playing," Eddie Van Halen said. Then he shows in the video exactly what Jimmy Page did with his guitar that was an inspiration to him.
https://youtu.be/yb26D8bBZB8?si=ptOS8jgyT0OKfqo6&t=1535
He believed Led Zeppelin was more of an acoustic band and once said Jimmy Page was sloppy when playing live
Although Led Zeppelin is one of the most important bands in the evolution of hard rock music, they had many acoustic songs. Eddie Van Halen said more than once that they were an acoustic band, not heavy metal as many people labeled them. "Led Zeppelin, they called them Heavy Metal but their music was acoustic". After saying that, Eddie was asked how he defined Van Halen's music. His answer was: "Down and dirty for real from the heart Rock and Roll," he told Bob Costas in 1992.
As Eddie recalled, he had the chance to see the British band play live. After a few years Van Halen was already successful, he spoke about the band's guitarist, Jimmy Page. To Van Halen, Page was great in the studio but tended to be sloppy when playing live. “Jimmy Page is an excellent producer. Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II are classics. As a player, he’s very good in the studio. But I never saw him play well live. He’s very sloppy. He plays like he’s got a broken hand and he’s two years old. But if you put out a good album and play like a two-year-old live. What’s the purpose?” Eddie Van Halen told Guitar World magazine back in 1981.
Eddie Van Halen later called Jimmy Page a legend
But obviously, Eddie was young, was a Rock star for only a few years and his respect for Jimmy Page grew bigger later on. In 1993, he was invited to be part of the guitarist's induction into the Rock Walk of Fame. In his speech, Van Halen called him a legend.
(Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). “I don’t think there is anybody here who has not been affected or touched by Jimmy Page’s music, his guitar playing. So the guy is a f*cking legend, you know. He influenced me and everybody that I know. What more can I say? Thank you for being here, I’m honored for being here, thank you.” Eddie Van Halen said.
Some of the Led Zeppelin songs Van Halen used to cover live before fame were “Hots On For Nowhere”, “The Rover” and “Trampled Underfoot”. After fame, especially in the mid-80s when Sammy Hagar became the band’s vocalist, they played many times “Whole Lotta Love” and “Rock and Roll” during their concerts. According to Eddie, Led Zeppelin even influenced the way they partied during the early days of their fame. "Hey, we were young and crazy. We were trying to do all the things that Led Zeppelin did--throw televisions out the window, and so on. We used to drive people crazy," Eddie told Guitar World in 1996.
Although he loved the band he didn't mention any of their guitar riffs as some of his favorite ones in an interview with Billboard in 2015. He mentioned songs by Cream, Deep Purple, AC/DC and Black Sabbath.
Jimmy Page also expressed admiration for Eddie Van Halen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvl5wEDkjXM&list=RDcvl5wEDkjXM&start_radio=1&pp=ygUWdmFuIGhhbGVuIGxlZCB6ZXBwZWxpbqAHAQ%3D%3D
They two musicians became friends over the decades and when Eddie passed away in 2020 at the age of 65, Jimmy Page paid tribute to the musician on his social media. “It is with great sadness that I heard the passing of Eddie Van Halen. He was the real deal. He pioneered a dazzling technique on guitar with taste and panache that I felt always placed him above his imitators. It was good to see him featured at the Met’s Play It Loud Exhibition. R. I. P. Eddie”
One of the last times they saw each other was when Whitesnake’s David Coverdale was present. Van Halen went to visit the singer while he was in England, and Jimmy Page happened to be there as well. The musician recalled that in an interview with Eon Music in 2020.
“Edward, the last time I saw him, I was sitting in my hotel suite in London with Jimmy (Page). It was like ten o’clock in the morning. We were just having a very elegant gentleman’s cup of tea. Tea pot and everything! (laughing). The door to my suite goes. Michael McIntire, my co-producer who was working with us, he gets up and opens the door. His jaw hits the floor because he’s like a total Van Halen fan. Eddie (casually) goes; ‘is David in?’ (laughing hysterically).”
David Coverdale continued:
“I wasn’t under my own name! And Mikey walks in and he goes; (meekly) ‘Oh, it’s Van Halen’, and Edward just pushes past. I go; ‘Edward, how are you doing?’ And he goes; ‘alright, great to see you… Ah! Jimmy Page! Jimmy Page!’
“Well first off, he goes to my minibar immediately at ten o’clock in the morning. Then takes a fucking Heineken out. He’s at Jimmy’s feet, and he picks up my acoustic. He’s like; ‘how did you play this fucking thing?!’ (laughing). You know, it’s amazing; I had Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page sitting there. Eddie had a Heineken, and Jimmy and I had a cup of tea!” David Coverdale saidThe post Eddie Van Halen’s opinion on Led Zeppelin appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.
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