Eddie Van Halen has been one of the important guitarists for the rock and roll community. However, if Eddie was asked who made the most impact as a guitarist, he would forever mention his heroes, the artists who helped him to develop his own style.
Yep, even the best like Eddie Van Halen admitted that he couldn’t match this guitar player. He even stated that he was a very unique guitar player, so who is this British guitarist?
The guitarist Eddie Van Halen said that was unique
Eddie Van Halen had an incredible musical journey. With his ability to play the instrument, many artists were able to find their own music. Throughout his years, he has mentioned Jimi Hendrix as one of the guitarists he couldn’t match.
“Yeah (It was great),” Van Halen said. “But I never learned a song by Hendrix except ‘Purple Haze,’ because that was a pop hit. I didn’t know how to get his sound. That’s what turned me off. The same thing with Jeff Beck. I just plugged into my amp, turned it all the way up and loved the way that sounded. For me, it was all Clapton, because he was so straightforward”, he said to Rolling Stones in 1995.
Alongside Jimi Hendrix, another guitarist that Eddie believed he couldn’t replicate was the guitarist of Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck.
During a 2011 interview with Rolling Stones, Eddie mentioned Jeff Black as a ‘unique’ guitarist. “I didn’t get into him until ‘Blow By Blow’ (1975). Just the instrumentalness of it. And ‘Wired’ (1976). Interesting stuff in there,” he said.
I guess it was just the experimentation in there that I liked. Jeff Beck is definitely a standalone. You never know what the hell he’s gonna do. My brother and I were in France 20 years ago, and Jeff Beck was playing. He was doing a rockabilly thing. And we were like, ‘What the hell is this?’ You never know what to expect with him,” Eddie added.
Jeff Black was one of the guitarists who was influential to Eddie Van Halen and multiple other artists. He rose to popularity with The New Yardbirds, later known as Led Zeppelin.
Beck released 17 studio albums, and Eddie mentioned that Jeff’s second album “Blow by Blow” (released in October 1974) was his favorite album by the guitarist. In 2016 Eddie Van Halen was asked to list his favorite albums by Guitar Tricks Insider magazine and he placed “Blow by Blow” in sixth place.
Jeff Beck on Van Halen “he’s got amazing technique”
Although Jedd Beck is known as a guitarist with unique techniques, Beck also believes that Eddie also has the same skills. During an interview with Guitar Magazine, Beck praised Eddie Van Halen for his techniques and called him an “innovator.”
“I suppose what people are pointing at is Van Halen for being the innovator. The one that committed tapping, hammering-on and harmonic screams to tape before anybody else. That’s quite right. It’s something he should get the credit for”.
“I mean, those guys like Van Halen are so great. But they seem to be stuck in that kind of stuff. Still, he’s got the most amazing technique. You’ve got to take your hat off to him for that. The speed and the frantic element. I could do well to learn from him some of those tricks he pulls,” Jeff Beck said.