Edward Van Halen: a Definitive Biography
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4.0 • 4 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
In July of 1984, Edward Van Halen was the most popular musician in the world in the most popular band in the worldthe band that to this day bears his own surname. As a 12-year-old, author Kevin Dodds experienced his first Van Halen concert, and it changed his life.
In this biography, Dodds takes a comprehensive look at the life of Van Halen, one of the worlds most famous and influential musicians. He examines Eddies early years growing up in the Netherlands; his life with his mother and musician father; the familys immigration to the United States; his lifelong trials and tribulations; and his remarkable music career. For more than a year, Dodds delved into more than a thousand different sources to compile Edward Van Halen: A Definitive Biography, the story that captures the life of a man with complex personality and character traits whose life and times has played an important role in American cultural and musical history. Dodds has also woven his personal experiences with Van Halen as well as his own band into this story, providing a unique perspective in the field of rock-and-roll biographies.
Customer Reviews
Good
Not the best but good enough.
Good read but maybe not for all "Van Hagar" fans
The author definitely did very thorough research and put it together in a well written book about his life-long guitar hero, Eddie Van Halen.
I found the tone of the book totally changed when I got to the Sammy Hagar years and the author's personal feelings towards the "more polished" sound and Hagar's lyrics start to become quite biased during the Hagar years. Ive never found Diamond Dave's lyrics to be all that great and I think the great songs has more to do with the incredible music they were making
I think whether general VH fans prefer the Roth era vs Van Hagar era probably has more to do with age/generation. My 39-year old wife was not even familiar with the Roth era Van Halen other than "Jump" but is familiar with 5150 and beyond.
The author has an easy to read style and he finished well (when DLR was back and Sammy gone) and included some personal history of his Van Halen concert and shared an unfortunate tragedy in his life.
Interesting
This book could easily have been done without all the Hagar bashing.