We've lost quite a few greats from rock.  There were the drugs, booze and tragic accidents. Each and every one of these losses hit me hard. Until yesterday, none of them, with the exception of Stevie Ray Vaughan, hit me as hard as when I heard of Eddie Van Halen's passing yesterday.

Van Halen Dress Rehearsal At The Forum
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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We all knew Eddie was having some health problems but I was still optimistic that, at least one more time, I'd have the opportunity to witness the guitar majestry of Eddie live on stage.  Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen, and that saddens me.

WDIZ
WDIZ
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The above picture, is from before a Van Halen show in Orlando in the early 90's. It was the first time that I ever met Eddie. In the picture, he is standing on a riser behind me. Yeah, that's me with the 70's porn mustache. I'll never forget that he kept flicking his ashes in my hair. My claim was all my hair fell out because of that.

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Eddie lived the life of a rock star and except for his well publicized divorce from Valerie, he managed to pretty much kept his life fairly private.

Eddie was a true musician and a guitar innovator.  Once I got to bring some winners from the radio station to a Van Halen soundcheck before a show in Orlando. So, like 20 of us got to sit in the front row of an otherwise empty auditorium and listen to the band's soundcheck.

Eddie will be missed but he left us a lot of great rock and filled us with memories of his stellar live performances.

Rest in peace, Eddie!

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