Eddie Van Halen

 Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, /vaen/ van HAY@l@n; Jan. 26, 1955 - October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the keyboardist and guitarist of Van Halen's rock band, which he founded along with his brother Alex Van Halen. Van Halen is often considered to be one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time. Van Halen was also renowned for his tap technique, that allows for rapid arpeggios using only two fingers. His father was a Dutch jazz pianist clarinettist, saxophonist, and clarinettist and his mother was an Indo (Eurasian) woman from Rangkasbitung on the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies. The family eventually relocated to Nijmegen, Netherlands.Eddie and Alex began their first band with three other boys. They they were known as The Broken Combs and played at lunchtime at Hamilton Elementary School in Pasadena at the time he was in the fourth grade. Later, he cited this performance in his determination to pursue a career as an accomplished musician. He called Cream's "I’m So Glad", from the album Goodbye, "mind-blowing".