Van Halen

In the late ’70s, hard rock was largely the domain of leather-clad metal aficionados and gruff growlers—until Van Halen came along to crash the party.

Guitarist Eddie Van Halen and his drummer brother, Alex, initially started playing music together in the mid-’60s and graduated from gigs at backyard parties to shows in Hollywood, which led to a record deal and the band’s 1978 self-titled debut.

Eddie wielded virtuosic guitar technique (the use of finger-tapping on the instrumental “Eruption”) and a melodic, fluid playing style (“Runnin’ with the Devil,” the riff-heavy “Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love”) that complemented the vocal razzmatazz offered by the band’s frontman: David Lee Roth.