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Eddie Van Halen, virtuoso of the rock guitar, dies at 65

By Jim Farber
New York Times·
10 mins to read


His outpouring of riffs, runs and solos was hyperactive and athletic, making deeper or darker emotions feel irrelevant. The band he led was one of the most popular of all time.

Eddie Van Halen, the immensely influential guitarist whose band, Van Halen, was one of the most popular rock acts of all time, — died on Tuesday. He was 65.

Van Halen's son, Wolfgang, said in a statement that his father had "lost his long and arduous battle with cancer."

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