Van Halen’s Hidden Secret: How David Lee Roth Kept Eddie’s Guitar Skills Under Wraps

Back in Van Halen's early days, singer David Lee Roth had a crafty plan. He'd tell Eddie to play with his back turned to the crowd, keeping the guitarist's special two-handed method a mystery. "Turn your back to the audience, dude, because you got this thing, and you don't want everybody to see it," former bassist Michael Anthony said on a recent episode of the Get on the Bus podcast.

Musicians got sneaky. They'd press their ears against the practice space walls, desperate to crack the code of Eddie's sound. During breaks, Anthony would spot them lurking near the garage door.

"The tapping wasn't the whole story," Anthony pointed out. Eddie mixed quick finger moves with slides in ways no one had tried. His style stood apart from every other player at the time.

Anthony played with Van Halen until Wolfgang took over in 2006. Bad feelings grew after the switch, but signs of peace showed up before Eddie's final days.

Time slipped away for old wounds to heal. Before Eddie died in 2020, his son Wolfgang had talked about getting everyone back on stage. "Eddie and I never patched things up," Anthony admitted. "We had our problems, but I know we would've worked it out if he'd lived longer."

New sounds might still surface. Alex Van Halen wants to use computer tech to finish his brother's unheard music. Guitarist Steve Lukather will help sort through the tracks, though they haven't picked when to share them.