As peers, friends, collaborators, and admirers honored Eddie Van Halen following his death from cancer at age 65, they highlighted one facet of his playing again and again: the lighthearted spirit underlying his prodigious technique. “He put so much joy intoevery little note,” Joe Satriani told Rolling Stone. “He smiled and let you know that it was all for fun. But at the same time, every musician knew they couldn’t touch him.” With “Eruption,” a brief instrumental off Van Halen’s self-titled 1978 debut, Eddie Van Halen redefined the vocabulary of rock guitar — like Jimi Hendrix and Eddie’s personal hero, Eric Clapton, had done a decade earlier — with an array of fluttering melodies, laser-beam licks, and sea-sickening dive bombs. That pioneering spirit guided Eddie throughout his life. In this special digital package, Rolling Stone remembers the late guitar god, whose abilities dazzled and inspired everyone from Pete Townshend to John Mayer, with a new web-exclusive cover story that delves into his creative triumphs and personal demons; tributes from Tony Iommi, Steve Perry, Tom Morello, and others; a guide to his greatest solos; and a look back at some of our most revealing archival stories on the guitarist. Read on and discover how Eddie Van Halen elevated the art of shred.