Eddie Van Halen (born Edward Lodewijk Van Halen on January 26, 1955, in Amsterdam, Netherlands) was the lead guitarist for the band Van Halen. He was one of two members of Van Halen that has been in the band for all its existence, even as Mammoth, the other being his brother Alex Van Halen, and he was Wolfgang's father. He also did the solo for Michael Jackson's "Beat It". He was one of the first guitarists to use tapping and sliding, as well as Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Brian May. Eddie Van Halen died aged 65 on October 9, 2020 from a stroke resulting from complications from throat and lung cancer; a month later, Wolfgang confirmed that Van Halen had disbanded.