Jack White pays tribute to Eddie Van Halen on SNL : 'Rest in peace, sir'
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Rock Legend Eddie Van Halen Dies From Cancer at 65
Eddie Van Halen, influential guitarist and founding member of his namesake rock band Van Halen, died on Tuesday. He was 65.
Jack White honored Eddie Van Halen during his Saturday Night Live performance — by rockin' out with a custom guitar designed by the legendary guitarist.
"I thought it could be a nice gesture for me to use this blue Eddie Van Halen model guitar for one of the songs tonight on SNL," he shared via Instagram with photos of the blue instrument. "The guitar was designed by Eddie (with a few customizations I had added). Eddie was very kind to me and saw to it that this guitar was made for me to my specs. I won't even insult the man’s talent by trying to play one of his songs tonight. thanks again, Eddie for this guitar, and rest in peace, sir."
A post shared by Jack White Live (@officialjackwhitelive) on Oct 10, 2020 at 1:03pm PDT
White gripped the Eddie Van Halen Signature Wolfgang Special guitar for his performance of "Lazarette," the lead single from his second solo album of the same name released in 2014.
The former White Stripes frontman said it was Van Halen himself who convinced him to make the switch, in a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone.
Denise Truscello/Getty Images; Randy Holmes/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images
“[Eddie] said, ‘I wanted something that doesn’t fight me,’" White recalled. “I was like, ‘Those are the magic bad words that I completely disagree with. And that’s why I’m picking his guitar.’"
Van Halen lost his battle against cancer on Oct. 6, he was 65.
Watch his performance in full above.
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