RIP Eddie Van Halen

Before I found (hard) rock n roll, I listened to Casey Kasem's Top 40 every Sunday morning.  That's actually where I heard Quiet Riot for the first time.  Then I heard "Jump." 

It was the first such song to both get a rise out of me AND hit #1.  When it fell out of the top spot, I remember Casey saying the rankings were based on sales and airplay, so I immediately called KVIC to request it.  "Since it was just played on the top 40, we have to wait a while to play it again" I was told.

Fine.  I bought the single.  Then I bought "I'll Wait," and "Panama," and "Hot for Teacher."  From that point on, I was an album man.

Fast forward a couple years.

Trey Tagliabue (RIP) and I had a radio show in our tech class at Crain MS.  I knew as soon as I heard the intro to "Good Enough," we had to play it.

These are my most acute VH memories.  I wasn't a huge VH fan, but I had most of their albums.  Even though I went on to faster, harder, more aggressive music, EVH was a once-in-a-lifetime guitarist in my larger world of rock n roll.  He was like Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, et al.  

If there's a Mt. Rushmore of hard rock, I can't imagine anyone would dispute a place for EVH's bust there.  

There's everyone else, and then there's Eddie Van Halen.  RIP.