Music Business Authority Available to Discuss Impact of Rock Icon
10/07/2020
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-758-4664, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
With his lightning quick licks and his Cheshire cat grin, Eddie Van Halen places in the top echelon of guitar gods, according to a UMass Lowell music business and recording expert available for interviews about the rock star’s legacy.
The linchpin behind the band that bears his surname, Van Halen died yesterday of cancer at 65.
“For me, it was his embrace of pop music as a platform for his virtuosity that stands out,” said Alan Williams, coordinator of UMass Lowell’s Music Business Program. “So widely imitated, he is one of his instrument’s primary figures. I’d put him just behind guitarist Les Paul and Jimi Hendrix in terms of impact and influence.”
Forming their band in 1972, Eddie and his brother Alex recruited bassist Michael Anthony and lead singer David Lee Roth to fashion the group’s unique sound of driving rock propelled by infectious melodies. Though the band went through lineup changes to include Sammy Hagar as its frontman to replace Roth and Eddie’s son Wolfgang taking over for Anthony on bass, Eddie’s talent as a musician and songwriter anchored the outfit, which galvanized fans as it racked up more than 56 million in album sales and American Music, Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards.
“Eddie Van Halen generally worked within pop song structures, condensing his highly melodic pyrotechnics into brilliant 20-second solos. He didn’t invent many of the extended techniques that he mastered, but by working in a mainstream pop/rock band, he brought these advances to many ears that had never heard them before,” Williams said.
Williams’ experience in the music industry – as a songwriter, bandleader, sound engineer, producer and educator – spans more than 30 years. He is a professor of music at UMass Lowell and internationally sought-after speaker and presenter on subjects from advances in teaching music to studio production.
To arrange an interview with Williams via phone, email or Zoom (or another platform), contact Nancy Cicco at Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu, 978-934-4944, or Christine Gillette at Christine_Gillette@uml.edu, 978-758-4664.