Is Eddie Van Halen the most famous guitarist of all time?

A picture of Eddie Van Halen playing guitar — (Image credit: Photo by C Flanigan/Getty Images)

Mark Tremonti believes the late Eddie Van Halen could be the most famous guitar player of all time.

The Alter Bridge, Creed and Tremonti star was speaking about the deaths of Eddie Van Halen and Jeff Beck, and hailed them both as among the very best at their trade.

And when remembering Eddie's passing, Tremonti said he thought the Van Halen icon could be the most famous of all time.

He tells the Mistress Carrie Podcast: "Eddie Van Halen could be the most famous guitar player of all time, I think, one of the most recognizable players. He was just a game changer.

"I remember the exact second I heard the news. I think it's one of those moments. It's like you remember when you turned on the news and you heard about 9/11 – you know exactly where you were. Same thing when I heard about Eddie's passing."

Eddie Van Halen died at the age of 65 in 2020 after a long battle with cancer. He was one of the most influential artists of all time, with countless metal and rock stars citing him and Van Halen as the reason they picked up the guitar in the first place.

Jeff Beck passed away last month at the age of 78.

On Beck, Tremonti says: "Jeff Beck, he's on the Mount Rushmore of everybody's guitar lists of best guitar players ever. He's irreplaceable.

"I've never heard anybody say, 'Yeah, he sounds like Jeff Beck.' Nobody says that. He was one of the most emotive players ever. I saw him live in Orlando at the House Of Blues, and it was crazy how emotional you get when you watch somebody that good play."

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Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.