by Mark Litsky
“In 1983, Van Halen was written into the Guinness Book of World Records as the “highest paid band of all-time” for its 90 minute set headlining the US Festival. Additionally, the band’s guitarist, Eddie Van Halen – already internationally-known for “re-writing the rules of the electric guitar” – performed one of popular music’s most famous guitar solos on Michael Jackson’s 1983 #1 Billboard hit, Beat It. Each successive Van Halen album had charted higher than its predecessor – and, by 1983, Van Halen was arguably the most popular rock band in the world; however, during 1984 – with Van Halen’s album, 1984, the band achieved the pinnacle of its “commercial and critical success”.
In the summer of 83, one of my closest friends, Joe Holmes (who is now best known for playing guitar for David Lee Roth and Ozzy) was just starting his first band Terriff. With…
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Concertologist 