One of the most groundbreaking guitarists of all time, Eddie Van Halen changed the course of guitar playing in the late '70s with the release of Van Halen's self-titled debut album. His unique ability to demonstrate what was possible with an electric guitar influenced countless musicians to follow in his footsteps. He created some of the most memorable guitar solos in the history of rock music, but one of his favorites was surprisingly simple. The Neil Young guitar solo Eddie Van Halen said was one of his favorites Neil Young wasn't an influence that Eddie Van Halen mentioned that much but one of his favorite guitar solos was created by the Canadian musician. When asked by Guitar World in 1993 which were some guitar players who influenced him and which was his favorite solo. He said: "One of my favourite solos is in 'Cinnamon Girl' by Neil Young. It’s a one-note solo and it just fits the song. Anyone else would have gone woraaagh and it wouldn’t have made any sense. If I’ve changed over the years, it’s that I’ve got more in tune with the song.” “You’ve gotta decide, are you making music for people or are you doing it for yourself? Anyone who says that they’re not making music for people can kiss my ass. I dunno, maybe they should just sit home in their closets and make music. Why bother making records and trying to sell them if you’re trying to make music for yourself? These guys who claim, ‘I’m an artist and I don’t care if I make records or not…’ Well, why even bother making them? I want to sell records; I want people to enjoy what I’m doing as much as I do. And if that means I’m selling out, then I’m selling out…” Eddie Van Halen said. Released by Neil Young as a single in 1970, the track was also part of his second studio album "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere". It was his first album with his praised backing band Crazy Horse. At the time, the song peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Neil Young mentioned Van Halen when talking about that particular guitar solo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck_MfAdmTeg Eddie Van Halen was obviously the Jimi Hendrix of his generation, because of the impact he had in music and guitar playing. So he impressed even artists like Neil Young, who played a different kind of music. Talking with Guitare & Claviers Magazine (France) in 1992, he mentioned Eddie before talking about the famous "Cinnamon Girl" guitar solo. He talked about it after being asked which was his opinion on people who go to school to learn how to play the guitar. "It would give you a rather sad view of your future, wouldn't it? First off, nobody cares if you know how to play scales. Nobody gives a shit if you have good technique or not. It's whether you have feelings that you want to express with music, that's what counts, really. When you are able to express yourself and feel good, then you know why you're playing. The technical aspect is absolute hogwash as far as I'm concerned." Neil Young continued: "It bores me to tears. I can't play fast. I don't even know my scales and I know that most of the notes I play aren't where I play them. They're simply not there. So you can play any note you like. I think about it on another level, I don't care about that sort of shit. On the other hand, I appreciate really great guitarists, and I'm very impressed by those metal groups with their scale guitarists. When I see that, I go «Holy shit, that's really something». Satriani and Eddie Van Halen are guitar geniuses. They are incredible musicians, at an amazing level. But it doesn't really grab me. One note will do." "(Like Cinnamon Girl) That's right: two chords. The same note on two chords. The vibrato makes each note sound different. People say it's a one-note solo, but in my mind, every one of those notes is different. The further you go into it, the more you can hear the differences," Neil Young said. Eddie played on Neil Young benefit concert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWviFuyE08A&pp=ygUZZWRkaWUgc2FtbXkgbG92ZSB3YWxrcyBpbg%3D%3D Eddie had the chance to be part of the Bridge School benefit concert in 1993, which was organized by Neil and his wife Pegi. As Sammy Hagar once said on his social media, it was him who invited Eddie to go. "You rarely hear people talking about Eddie Van Halen's brilliant piano playing. This is one of my favorite ballads we wrote for 5150. In 1993, Neil Young invited me back to do another Bridge benefit and I brought Eddie. It was so special and unusual. We had never done anything like this. Please enjoy this treasure."
