Eddie Van Halen

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen (January 26, 1955 - October 6, 2020)  was a musician, songwriter, producer, and inventor. He was the main songwriter and lead guitarist of the American rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded in 1972 with his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Mark Stone, and singer David Lee Roth. He is regarded as one of the all-time great guitar players in rock history and was well known for popularizing the tapping guitar solo technique, allowing rapid arpeggios to be played with two hands on the fretboard.

Death
In 2019, Eddie Van Halen was hospitalized after battling throat cancer over the previous five years, and his ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli also mentioned a battle with lung cancer in an Instagram post shortly after his death. He died from the illness at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California on October 6, 2020 at the age of 65, surrounded by his wife, Janie; son and Van Halen bassist, Wolfgang; ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli; and brother, Alex, who co-founded and drummed in Van Halen.