the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame summoned some of the greatest guitar legends of modern times, Tom Morello, Slash , and Kirk Hammett , to pay tribute to Eddie Van Halen , who died last month at the age of 65.
“Eddie Van Halen was the Mozart of our generation,” Morello stated at the event. “He had the kind of talent that perhaps comes once in a century. Eddie Van Halen inspired me to practice 20,000 hours to try and get 100 miles away from his inspiring guitar mastery.”
Slash also heaped praise on the icon, stating, “Eddie Van Halen was an extremely talented musician. His style and his sound were completely unique to him. He had an immense impact playing guitar. I don't think there's been anyone who picked up a guitar since 1978 and hasn't been touched in some way by the influence of Eddie Van Halen.”
Finally, Metallica Kirk Hammett paid tribute to the musician. “Eddie Van Halen was incredible. Since Jimi Hendrix, there hasn't been another guitarist who has had such an impact and been so inspiring to me. He explored the simplest thing: the harmony of a string, and brought it to a realm of technique that no one ever thought was possible. He was from a different planet.”
Check out the ceremony trailer below:
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