CLEVELAND — The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lowered their flag Tuesday evening to honor the life of Eddie Van Halen.
Van Halen, 65, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer.
He was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2007.
Rock Hall president Greg Harris said that Van Halen changed the electric guitar game forever.
“Inductee Eddie Van Halen forever changed the vocabulary of the electric guitar. With blistering speed, control, and melodic feel, he perfected the art of shredding, unleashing two-handed finger tapping, dramatic whammy-bar moves, and other astonishing never-before-seen techniques. Innovative, like his hero Les Paul, Eddie reimagined the sonic possibilities of the guitar and became an inspiration for an entire generation of musicians who worshiped his sound and style. His band Van Halen kicked the American hard rock scene into high gear in the late Seventies, became rock heroes on MTV in the Eighties, and gave rise to a steady stream of shredders and trailblazers ever since," Harris said.
Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar, Wolfgang guitar, and other memorabilia are on display inside the Rock Hall.
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