Eddie Van Halen - Beat It Solo

Eddie Van Halen - Beat It Solo

[steveriddle]

The slide at the very end is beyond awesome. Talk about walk in, destroy, and leave.

[valentinap]

Those were the most electrifying 32 seconds of my life..!!

[JawTooth]

Hard to believe those fingers are done

[SONNYHOTmusic]

It so crazy to think that Eddie’s solo is the peak of the song

[kawasakiwhiptwo]

Eddie came in, did two takes, and the first was the keeper.
R.I.P. King Edward

[stephanelecreux]

The exact pinched harmonic between 0:17 and 0:18 epitomizes this piece of legend. Such a scream in one short tiny note...

[jllamb]

Not saying there aren’t other guitarists who are “technically” better, but nobody else plays like this. This man is incomparable.

[catboyzee]

There are some moments in recording history that simply cannot be duplicated. This iconic solo ranks high on that list...

[Enrique_Pereira]

this is imposible to replicate, that clean way to play that solo is incredible.

[Keezie]

I've heard others play this solo and no one even comes close to Van Halen

[rp]

RIP to the greatest guitarist ever - and this is his best solo. I remember listening to EVH’s records in the car with my dad in the 90s when I was just a kid. Things won’t be the same without him. In a sense, guitar music has died with EVH.

[alarm]

During an interview back in the 80's Eddie admitted he didn't like the song "Beat It" when he first heard it and didn't consider it a rock song but played on it anyway as a favor for Quincey Jones who was Michael Jackson's producer. Eddie said he thought to himself "Who's gonna hear me playing on this black kids record?". The answer to his question was, the world.

[hamzanasir]

Eddie recorded the solo on the Michael Jackson song "Beat It" when The Who guitarist Pete Townshend became unavailable and recommended him.[29] Eddie met with Quincy Jones and Jackson. Unsure of what he could add to a pop song, he played along with the song and ended up restructuring it and adding the classic solo. In a 2012 CNN interview, [30] he said, "I listened to the song, and I immediately go, 'Can I change some parts?' I turned to the engineer and I go, 'OK, from the breakdown, chop in this part, go to this piece, pre-chorus, to the chorus, out.' Took him maybe 10 minutes to put it together. And I proceeded to improvise two solos over it." He added, "I was just finishing the second solo when Michael walked in. And you know artists are kind of crazy people. We're all a little bit strange. I didn't know how he would react to what I was doing. So I warned him before he listened. I said, 'Look, I changed the middle section of your song.' Now in my mind, he's either going to have his bodyguards kick me out for butchering his song, or he's going to like it. And so he gave it a listen, and he turned to me and went, 'Wow, thank you so much for having the passion to not just come in and blaze a solo but to actually care about the song and make it better." Eddie was so pleased he refused payment for his work.

[nwmstudios]

Probably the greatest solo ever, just simply an amazing guitarist.

[jerrysingsanything]

From 0:10 to 0:18 you can just hear the emotion from the guitar and Eddie. The man was truly something special. Shred in peace Mr.Tap

[evesolis]

That’s one 32 seconds you never regret experienced.

[rafaelmotta]

Este solo mexe com as estruturas do meu corpo. Lembranças infância. Como o tempo passa .. a internet nos destruiu

[kurtdewittphoto]

You ever hear a song a hundred times, and then all of the sudden, you appreciate it more than all the other times you've heard it? That happened to me the other day while listening to Beat It. This solo is such fire, and I honestly never knew it was Eddie.

[RighteouzBoy]

That pick attack / those pinch harmonics is / are instantly recognizable.

[kengibson]

That may be the greatest 30 seconds of guitar history. This is the first time I've heard this solo isolated. In a word... perfect!