Van Halen's legacy?

[Eddymon]

Since The Beatles were the Rock "icons" of the 60's.
Led Zeppelin was the same in the 70's.
Nirvana was the "icon" for the 90's ( )
Was Van Halen the 80's equivalent to those bands?

As far as the most influential bands of their decade.

I saw they were, My wife disagrees. But she can't name anyone else more influential.

How about all you.

This might be best suited for Ops/Spec forum, but lets start it here first.

[thinlineokc]

DAMN STRAIGHT! Van Halen is defintely the rock and roll icon of the eighties.

[valdez44]

I think the only group that could rival VH in the eighties was Metallica. Metallica's inception was in the 80's, as were all their killer albums.

If you think about it, VH was really the late 70's, no?

[LittleGuitars99]

Hey man please don't put Metallica in the same phrase with Van Halen, they couldn't have come close in the 80's..

Greatest Rock'n Roll band in the world, well its gotta be the Stones.
Greatest American Rock'n Roll band, without a doubt Van Halen. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

Hey..Will Lars ever learn to play the drums??

[Ctbone5150]

Oh yeah they were.

[valdez44]

Hey that's cool if you didn't like my Metallica suggestion, I'm just so bored, in my opinion I thought perhaps they were the only Hard rock/metal band that could challenge the legacy of VH in the 80's.

Whether you like them or not, Kill em' all, Ride the lighting and master of puppets were huge albums that changed the sound or influenced the sound of a lot of bands in the 80's. Thats all...just trying to make some discussion that ain't all the dave vs sam bullshit [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

[Brett]

Look, whether people want to deny it, or slag it, or just ignore it, the fact remains that Eddie Van Halen is the most influential guitar player of the last 25 years no question. His playing revolutionized the instrument and spawned legions of copy cats. Yes there have been other great players since, but none have had the commercial appeal of what Van Halen was able to capture, to go along with the musicianship. It was a magic combination, and yes they are the band of the 80's.

[MAX]

Originally posted by Brett:
Look, whether people want to deny it, or slag it, or just ignore it, the fact remains that Eddie Van Halen is the most influential guitar player of the last 25 years no question. His playing revolutionized the instrument and spawned legions of copy cats. Yes there have been other great players since, but none have had the commercial appeal of what Van Halen was able to capture, to go along with the musicianship. It was a magic combination, and yes they are the band of the 80's.

Exactly.

[aftershock5]

NO ONE did more for rock during the 80's & 90's than =VH=.

Music may change, like it did during those eras, but their sound will remain timeless.

[Badabing]

VH formed in late 73' and was around right up until the millenium, so I wouldnt call them a 70's band, 80's band or whatever. Having said that, I can safely say I think they where the best and most impressive band during the 80's decade.

Many can argue for the great Metallica & Guns n' Roses. Or even Def Leppard(who I feel was nothing more than Europe's version of VH) But VH was it. They set it off in 78' and led the way for everyone from Motley & Leppard to Guns n' Roses & Skid Row. And EVH was no doubt the player of that decade and the most influential of the last 25 years. Not only influencing 80's guys, but as I have said before, TONS of 90's guys who grew up at that time listening to VH.

Pantera, Alice in Chains, Dream Theater, Primus, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, Green Day, Fuel, Creed, System of a Down, Staind, Incubus, Fear Factory, Rage Against The Machine, Powerman 5000, Korn, The Deftones, Tenacious D, Sponge, Marylin Manson, Weezer, The Offspring, Godsmack, Collective Soul, No Doubt and others.. ALL of these are 90's bands who have declared their love of VH. I can print for you a quote by every damn guitar player in those bands where they claim VH as an influence/inspiration.. Every damn one.

I think John Cougar Mellencamp said it best recently on VH1-

"The best thing about the 80's, to me, was Van Halen. They made amazing sounding records. And if you listen to those records today, they still sound amazing." - John Cougar Mellencamp

[GM]

I'm talking about good solid rock!!! not about how many albums they sold how many fans etc, etc

60's THE WHO
70's LED ZEP
80's VAN HALEN
90's nothing new,

[Dan Halen]

Originally posted by Badabing:
I think John Cougar Mellencamp said it best recently on VH1-

"The best thing about the 80's, to me, was Van Halen. They made amazing sounding records. And if you listen to those records today, they still sound amazing." - John Cougar Mellencamp

He also said "Even their bad songs were good." [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

[Sean]

Absolutley, positively icons of the '80's. While I love Metallica (and a lot of other band that got their start in the hair band era), they didn't truly come into their own until the very late 80's and early 90's. Not that their stuff wasn't great, there just weren't a lot of people that knew it yet. VH was established going into the '80s and did nothing but pick up steam.

[Dave's Dradle]

Since VH came on the scene in the late 70s, no other guitarist has been copied more than ED and no other frontman has been imitated more than Dave.

In my book that definately makes them the most influential band of the 80s.

[ross]

I agree with Eddymon. VH all the way. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

Metallica is up there in the ranks too.