2020.11.07 - Blabbermouth - Slash, Kirk Hammett And Tom Morello Honor Eddie Van Halen At 2020 Rock Hall Induction Ceremony

Slash, Kirk Hammett And Tom Morello Honor Eddie Van Halen At 2020 Rock Hall Induction Ceremony

Guns N' Roses' Slash, Metallica's Kirk Hammett and Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen earlier tonight (Saturday, November 7) during the "In Memoriam" segment as part of the TV special honoring this year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees.

Slash said: "Eddie Van Halen was a truly gifted musician. His style and his sound were completely unique to him. He had a massive impact on guitar playing and I don't think there's anybody who has picked up a guitar since 1978 who hasn't been touched in some way by Eddie Van Halen's influence. I really miss his playing and I really miss him as a friend."

Hammett added: "Eddie Van Halen was amazing. Not since Jimi Hendrix had there been a guitar player that had so much impact and was so inspiring to me. He just explored the most simplest thing, a harmonic on a string, and brought it into a realm of technique that nobody even thought was possible. He was just like from a different planet."

Morello stated: "Eddie Van Halen was the Mozart of our generation. He had the kind of talent that maybe comes around once a century. Eddie Van Halen inspired me to practice 20,000 hours to try to get within a hundred miles of his inspired mastery of the electric guitar."

Other musicians honored in this year's Rock Hall "In Memoriam" segment included Little Richard, Bill Withers, Neil Peart, John Prine, Ginger Baker, Ric Ocasek, Dr. John, Kenny Rogers and Charlie Daniels.

The program is available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max replaces the live 35th annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony that was originally scheduled for May 2 of this year.

It was announced in March that the ceremony would be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.

Eddie died on October 6 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with his son, Wolfgang, and Alex, Eddie's brother and Van Halen drummer.

The iconic Van Halen axeman died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.



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