Classic Rock

welcome

Sometimes things catch you a little off guard. And one such instance happened this month. It was a random Tuesday evening a couple of weeks ago when, just before 9pm, I received a text from a friend stating simply: ‘EVH dead’. Although I knew that Eddie Van Halen had been suffering again with the cancer that finally claimed him, I didn’t see this one coming. It’s going to take a long time to process that he is no longer here in the world with us. What we do have, however, is the music he left behind; his songwriting and his incredible guitar pyrotechnics. He was the last great guitar hero that truly changed guitar playing and rock music forever. We pay tribute from page 10. On a much brighter note, we…

this month’s contributors

HANNAH MAY KILROY Having started her music journalism career as an intern at Classic Rock, Hannah May has since worked for a number of music magazines, and she was previously Deputy Ed at our sister magazine Prog. This issue she celebrated her love of southern rock by talking to Black Stone Cherry for us (p38). TOM MORELLO The perfect contributor – we gave him a commission, a word count and a deadline, and Tom delivered his copy on time. He wrote about his early years as a teenage metalhead (p46) and accompanied them with personal photos from his new book, Whatever It Takes. When not writing for CR, Tom spends most of his time playing guitar in bands including Rage Against The Machine and Prophets Of Rage. STEVEN ROSEN Steven spent a lot of time…

eddie van halen january 26, 1955 - october 6, 2020

FOR MORE NEWS: WWW.CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM On October 6, the world grew shockingly quieter when guitar revolutionary and visionary Edward Lodewijk Van Halen finally surrendered to a devastating decades-long battle with throat cancer at the far too young age of 65. He was surrounded by his wife Janie, son Wolfgang, brother Alex and ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli upon his passing at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California. Over the course of an extraordinary career that spanned 42 years and a dozen albums, the Dutch-born guitarist created an entirely new lexicon for the electric guitar player, a crazy ABC of never-heardbefore techniques, tones and harmonic templates. On February 10, 1978, when the first album bearing his name was released, all these elements were unleashed in a pulverising sonic blitz in which he rewrote the language…

the stars pay tribute

Eddie was a guitar wonder, his playing pure wizardry. To the world of music he was a special gift. To those of us fortunate enough to have met him, a special person. He leaves a big hole in a lot of hearts. Angus Young, AC/DC He was the real deal. He pioneered a dazzling technique on guitar with taste and panache that I felt always placed him above his imitators. Jimmy Page Frank Zappa said that Eddie reinvented the guitar. I agree. A brilliant guitarist who started a technique of guitar playing which was emulated by a whole generation of guitarists, he was one of the nicest musicians I ever met. Very shy and not at all conceited about his ability as a guitar player. Ritchie Blackmore The Great American Guitar Player. I…

rip thank you and good night.

Jimmy Winston April 20, 1945 – September 26, 2020 Former Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones has paid tribute to Jimmy Winston, the band’s original keyboard player, who has died at the age of 75. Born in Stratford, James Edward Winston Langwith co-founded the band in 1965, and played on their first two singles before his place was taken by Ian McLagan. “Another life cut too short,” said Jones. “I will miss Jimmy very much.” Gordon Haskell April 27, 1946 – October 15, 2020 Although known best for his solo hit How Wonderful You Are, a UK No.2 single in 2001, Gordon Haskell also spent time fronting and playing bass for King Crimson during the early 1970s. Aged 74 at the time of his death caused by cancer, Haskell was also a member of the Southampton-based…

spencer davis

AS THIS ISSUE of Classic Rock went to press, Spencer Davis, best known as leader and guitarist of the Spencer Davis Group, died in hospital while being treated for pneumonia. He was 81 years old. The news was confirmed by Spencer Davis Group drummer Pete York, who said: “Spencer was a lovely man – always very courteous and a purist about music.” Steve Winwood, the keyboard player, vocalist and guitarist with whom Davis co-founded the Spencer Davis Group, called Spencer “a man with a vision”, adding: “He was among the pioneers of the British invasion of America in the 1960s. I never went to the US with Spencer, but he later embraced America, and America embraced him. “Spencer was an early pioneer of the British folk scene, which in his case embraced folk…