06/09/2026
Eddie Van Halen was a massive Jimmy Page fan, and one of Page’s techniques may have helped inspire what eventually became one of Eddie’s most famous trademarks.
In a 1998 interview with Fuzz magazine, Eddie recalled seeing Led Zeppelin perform around 1970 or 1971. During the show, he noticed Page playing notes on the second or third string while lifting his picking arm high into the air. Eddie appears to have been referring to a section near the beginning of the “Heartbreaker” solo, where Page used hammer-ons and pull-offs on the G string while allowing the open string to ring.
Page would hammer onto notes with his right index finger directly onto the fretboard, producing the sound without striking the string with a pick. After a quick right-hand pull-off, the next note would be fretted with his left hand.
According to Eddie, watching Page use that technique planted the seed for something much bigger. He began experimenting with using both hands on the fretboard, eventually developing the fluid two-handed tapping style that became one of the most recognizable weapons in his playing.
Eddie’s admiration for Page, however, didn’t mean he was afraid to criticize him.
In a 1981 interview with Guitar World, Van Halen praised Page’s studio abilities while taking a much harsher view of his live performances.
“As a producer, Jimmy Page is top-tier. Led Zeppelin I and II are absolute classics. In the studio, the guy is great. But I’ve never seen him play a good live gig. He’s just so sloppy. It’s like he’s playing with a broken hand or like he’s a two-year-old. You make these killer albums, and then you go on stage and play like a toddler—what’s even the point?”
Page wasn’t Eddie’s only British guitar hero. Van Halen was also a huge admirer of Ritchie Blackmore.
“I loved Ritchie Blackmore’s vibrato on the *Deep Purple in Rock* album,” Eddie told *Rolling Stone* in 2011. “Plus, Deep Purple wrote killer riffs. ‘Smoke on the Water’ is definitely going down in history.”
Eddie also openly credited Blackmore with getting him interested in using the whammy bar, another technique that would become a major part of the Van Halen sound.
He apparently wanted badly to meet Blackmore as well. On one occasion, Don Airey tried to introduce Eddie to him backstage at a Rainbow show in Long Beach. But when Blackmore saw Van Halen standing alongside Gary Moore, he reportedly assumed they were just a couple of young musicians hanging around and quickly disappeared before the introduction could happen.
Long before Van Halen became arena-rock giants, Eddie and the band were regularly playing songs by both Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple during their club days. Their setlists included tracks such as “Maybe I’m a Leo,” “Might Just Take Your Life,” “Hots On for Nowhere,” “The Rover,” and “Trampled Underfoot.”
Years later, Eddie and Sammy Hagar would still return to Zeppelin material, performing songs including “Rock and Roll” and “Whole Lotta Love” at charity shows.
The admiration eventually became mutual.
Both Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore have spoken of Eddie as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of his generation.
Following Van Halen’s death, Page paid tribute to him, writing, “It is with great sadness that I hear of the passing of Eddie Van Halen. He was the real deal.”
Page praised Eddie for pioneering a brilliant guitar technique with taste and imagination, adding that Van Halen always seemed to remain several steps ahead of the countless players who tried to imitate him.
Blackmore offered a similarly powerful tribute.
“Eddie Van Halen was a brilliant guitarist who kicked off a technique that a whole generation of players tried to rip off,” he said. Blackmore also remembered Eddie as one of the nicest people he had encountered in the music business—shy, humble and remarkably free of ego considering his abilities.
He also referenced Frank Zappa’s famous assessment that Eddie had essentially reinvented the guitar.
“I’m with Frank on that,” Blackmore said. “He’ll be sorely missed. His brilliant legacy is here to stay.”
“A true guitar hero.”
