New Book Tells Eddie Van Halen’s Story in His Own Words

A new book about the late Eddie Van Halen, to be released next month, aims to capture the complete history of the influential guitarist and iconic Van Halen bandleader through the words of the rocker himself.

It's called Eruption: Conversations With Eddie Van Halen, and it takes its source material from over 50 hours of unreleased interview recordings with the musician.

Those interviews — mostly captured on location at Van Halen's 5150 Studios over the years — were amassed by Eruption's authors, music journalists Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill. New material from EVH's family, friends and colleagues supplements the guitarist's commentary.

A book overview from publisher Hachette Books says, "Since his band Van Halen burst onto the scene with their self-titled debut album in 1978, Eddie had been hailed as an icon not only to fans of rock music and heavy metal, but to performers across all genres and around the world. Van Halen's debut sounded unlike anything that listeners had heard before and remains a quintessential rock album of the era."

It continues, "[For] more than four decades, Eddie gained renown for his innovative guitar playing and particularly for popularizing the tapping guitar solo technique. Unfortunately for Eddie and his legions of fans, he died before he was ever able to put his life down to paper in his own words, and much of his compelling backstory has remained elusive — until now."

EVH died at 65 in October 2020. Van Halen quietly disbanded after his death. His son, Wolfgang, a late-era Van Halen member, currently fronts Mammoth WVH.

Eruption arrives Oct. 5. Get more info below and pre-order the book at hachettebooks.com.

In 'Eruption,' music journalists Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill share with fans, new and old alike, a candid, compulsively readable and definitive oral history of the most influential rock guitarist since Jimi Hendrix. It is based on more than 50+ hours of unreleased interviews they recorded with Eddie Van Halen over the years, most of them conducted at the legendary 5150 Studios at Ed’s home in Los Angeles. The heart of 'Eruption' is drawn from these intimate and wide-ranging talks, as well as conversations with family, friends and colleagues.

In addition to discussing his greatest triumphs as a groundbreaking musician, including an unprecedented dive into Van Halen’s masterpiece '1984,' the book also takes an unflinching look at Edward’s early struggles as young Dutch immigrant unable to speak the English language, which resulted in lifelong issues with social anxiety and substance abuse. 'Eruption: Conversations With Eddie Van Halen' also examines his brilliance as an inventor who changed the face of guitar manufacturing. As entertaining as it is revealing, 'Eruption' is the closest readers will ever get to hearing Eddie’s side of the story when it comes to his extraordinary life.