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Noteworthy Then

1/26/1957 Eddie Van Halen born.

 

 

Edward Lodewijk van Halen born this day in the Netherlands. His middle name is the Dutch variation on Beethoven's first name, Ludwig.  Eddie's father played jazz piano, clarinet and saxophone and both Eddie and his brother and future band mate started piano lessons not long after the family relocated to Pasadena, California in 1962.  Eddie would earn top honors several years running in a regional piano performance competition staged at an LA area community college.  Alex took up the guitar before his brother, so Eddie started playing drums, but the pair switched instruments shortly after Alex blew  Eddie away with how well he could drum-up the drum solo of the Sufari's song Wipe Out.  The pair formed their first band in 1972 and changed its name to Van Halen in '74. Jaw dropping performances in southern California clubs created a buzz about the band.  Van Halen's initial break came when Gene Simmons of KISS caught an opening set VH did at a UFO concert, but Simmons' attempt to get Van Halen a contract with KISS manager Bill Aucoin didn't pan out.  The group got signed by Warner Brothers Records in 1977 and released the debut album that gave the band a roaring start on its way to becoming one of the biggest bands in rock in February, 1978.

 

Stage antics Eddie combined with his incendiary guitar playing took a toll on his health.  He underwent a hip replacement in 1999.  In 2000, he was diagnosed with tongue cancer. Diverticulitis necessitated an emergency surgery in 2012 and cancer returned in his throat and spread to his lungs.  He would die at 65 ater suffering a stroke while hospitalized in Santa Monica, California on October 6th, 2020.

 

Other Noteworthy Classic Rock events on January 26 include...

 

1934 Apollo Theater opens in Harlem.

1945 Mountain and West, Bruce & Laing drummer Corky Laing born.

1949 Climax Blues Band's Derek Holt born.

1951 Little River band's David Briggs born.

1961 Cinderella guitarist and singer Tom Keifer born.

1968 Pink Floyd does its first concert without Syd Barrett at Southampton University.

1969 Led Zeppelin lays down a 4 hour set at the Boston Tea Party.

1970 John Lennon records Instant Karma.

1970 Tom Constanten does his final concert with the Grateful Dead.

1973 Elton John releases Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player.

1974 The Doobie Brothers make their European tour debut in London.

1977 Former Fleetwood Mac member Peter Green committed after allegedly drawing a gun and threatening an accountant.

1977 Patti Smith falls of the stage during her opening set for Bob Seger in Tampa and gets 20+ stitches in her head

1986 Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins is paralyzed in a car wreck that kills his girlfriend. The crash of the new Thunderbird Collins was driving in South Jacksonville paralyzed him from the waist down.  He plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter and DWI.  His injuries also prevented him from being able to perform with Skynyrd again, but he did devote his attention and efforts to programs to help others with paralysis.  He passed away at just 37 on January 23, 1990 after contracting pneumonia.

1989 Bon Jovi opens the US leg of the New Jersey Syndicate Tour in Dallas.

1991 Van Halen, Bonnie Raitt and Paul Simon contribute performances to a Video produced by Cher for USS troops involved in Operation Desert Storm.

1997 ZZ Top is part of the Super Bowl 31 half time show that also features the Blues Brothers and James Brown.

2003 Billy Joel airlifted to a hospital after running his car into a tree.

2010 Mick Fleetwood Band releases Blue Again.

2011 Jimmy Buffett gets stitches in head after falling from a stage during Sydney. Australia concert

2014 Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr play together

2014 Led Zeppelin lands its first Grammy for Best Rock Album (Celebration Day, 2007 Reunion)

2014 Fleetwood Mac becomes the first band to receive the MusiCares Person of the Year Award...