Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
To outsiders, Eddie Van Halen seemed to be sitting on top of the world in December 1979. The first two Van Halen albums had gone platinum, the band had just wrapped up a massive world tour, and he’d been widely proclaimed one of the best – if not the best – guitarist in rock and roll. But behind the scenes Eddie had rapidly discovered that fame had its price. He was irritated with manufacturers who’d cloned his trademark guitar, with big-name players copping his techniques, and with journalists misrepresenting his words.
A few days after recording the third Van Halen album, Women and Children First, Eddie called me at home to see how I was doing. When I mentioned I was working on a Guitar Player magazine article on do-it-yourself guitar kits, he volunteered to give me his insights into building guitars. Since he was largely responsible for the trend’s popularity, I accepted his invitation. Two days later, on December 29, 1979, we had the conversation heard here. Eddie offers a wealth of insight into his homemade guitars, and then shares his feelings about some of the harder lessons he’d learned on and off the road.
I hope you enjoy this unique recording, and be sure to check out the other historic Van Halen interviews on the Talking Guitar YouTube channel. To help us continue producing podcasts, please hit that donate button and send some cheer our way: paypal.me/TalkingGuitar.
For more interview podcasts and guitar-focused articles, visit jasobrecht.substack.com/. Thanks for listening! #vanhalen #eddievanhalen #edwardvanhalen #jasobrecht #talkingguitar
To outsiders, Eddie Van Halen seemed to be sitting on top of the world in December 1979. The first two Van Halen albums had gone platinum, the band had just wrapped up a massive world tour, and he’d been widely proclaimed one of the best – if not the best – guitarist in rock and roll. But behind the scenes Eddie had rapidly discovered that fame had its price. He was irritated with manufacturers who’d cloned his trademark guitar, with big-name players copping his techniques, and with journalists misrepresenting his words.
A few days after recording the third Van Halen album, Women and Children First, Eddie called me at home to see how I was doing. When I mentioned I was working on a Guitar Player magazine article on do-it-yourself guitar kits, he volunteered to give me his insights into building guitars. Since he was largely responsible for the trend’s popularity, I accepted his invitation. Two days later, on December 29, 1979, we had the conversation heard here. Eddie offers a wealth of insight into his homemade guitars, and then shares his feelings about some of the harder lessons he’d learned on and off the road.
I hope you enjoy this unique recording, and be sure to check out the other historic Van Halen interviews on the Talking Guitar YouTube channel. To help us continue producing podcasts, please hit that donate button and send some cheer our way: paypal.me/TalkingGuitar.
For more interview podcasts and guitar-focused articles, visit jasobrecht.substack.com/. Thanks for listening! #vanhalen #eddievanhalen #edwardvanhalen #jasobrecht #talkingguitar
