Paul McCartney helped to form The Beatles back in 1960 alongside John Lennon and George Harrison, helping to start a real revolution in music. So since then, he had the chance to see the evolution of Rock and Roll up-close. Over the years he talked about many new artists and gave his opinion on them.
Although he never talked that much about Hard Rock or Heavy Metal music, McCartney mentioned the late legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen a few times.
What is Paul McCartney’s opinion on Eddie Van Halen
Older Rock and Roll artists usually are not very interested in heavier bands. But Paul McCartney actually praised Eddie Van Halen a few times. He revealed back in the late 80s, in an interview with Guitar Player that he actually liked many Heavy Metal players. He stated that they were what he usually loved in Metal groups.
“I like Eddie Van Halen as a player. He gets it right quite often. I like a lot of heavy metal guys because they wind it up. What I usually like in a heavy metal band is the guitar player. But when it’s just miles of scales, I lose interest. I like some of the hot sounds,” Paul McCartney said.
By that time, Van Halen was already in the spotlight for about a decade. Although the group was formed in 1972, in Pasadena, California, they only had the chance to release their groundbreaking debut album in 1978. In the late 80s the band had already released their six successful studio albums with David Lee Roth on vocals. They were starting their era with Sammy Hagar as the frontman. In the 80s, the band released “5150” (1986) and “OU812” (1988) with the Red Rocker.
Paul McCartney said Van Halen was great but not better than Hendrix
Paul McCartney was lucky enough to have met Jimi Hendrix back in the late 60s and see him playing multiple times. They became good friends and the Beatle was always really impressed by the talent of the American guitarist. Over the decades many people said that Eddie Van Halen was the new Hendrix, because of the revolution he caused in terms of guitar playing, especially. Because countless guitar players started to copy his style, same thing that happened with Hendrix in the 60s.
Since he had the chance to hear the music of both of them, McCartney told Rolling Stone magazine in 1986 that although both were great, Hendrix was really the best one. “I have very fond memories of Jimi. I mean, Van Halen’s great, I love Eddie Van Halen. But I still think Jimi was the best,” Paul McCartney said.
Eddie Van Halen passed away back in 2020 at the age of 65 after years battling cancer. Bands like The Beatles and Dave Clark Five were really important for him when he was a kid. They were a huge inspiration for him and his brother. It was one of the reasons why they decided to become Rock musicians, rather than classical players, like their parents wanted to.
