Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( van HAY-lən; Dutch: [ˈɛtʋɑrt ˈloːdəʋɛik fɑn ˈɦaːlə(n)]; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and one of the primary songwriters of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex Van Halen in 1972, and the brothers were the only two constant members during the band's existence. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitarists in rock history. Eddie Van Halen was well-known for popularizing the tapping guitar technique, allowing rapid arpeggios to be played with two hands on the fretboard. Van Halen was voted number one in a Guitar World Magazine poll for "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" poll. Rolling Stone ranked Van Halen 4th in its list of the "250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2023. Van Halen dealt with numerous health issues beginning in the 1990s. On October 6, 2020, Van Halen died of a stroke at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65.