Friend of Shreveport Eddie Van Halen Dead At 65

The world of rock and roll lost a legend today, as Eddie Van Halen passed away at the age of 65. His death was confirmed by his son on Twitter today:

Eddie was best known as the founder and primary songwriter for the band Van Halen. He founded the band with his brother Alex in 1972, which would eventually gain the name Van Halen in 1974 after adding singer David Lee Roth to the lineup.

After becoming stars in the Los Angeles music scene, Van Halen went on to release 12 studio albums, 2 live albums, and 2 compilation albums. The band would go on to achieve incredible success, becoming one of only five rock bands to have multiple albums sell more than ten million copies in the United States. The two albums that achieved that for the band were their self titled album, and 1984.

Eddie is personally recognized as one of, if not THE, greatest guitarist of all time. In 2012, the readers of Guitar World voted him as #1 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

The city of Shreveport has a long-standing relationship with Van Halen. He met the woman who would become his wife, Valerie Bertinelli, at the Hirsh Coliseum in Shreveport in 1980.

Eddie and the band would go on to make Shreveport a staple of their concert tours for years to come. Even playing their first public show ever with Sammy Hagar on vocals in Shreveport.