Heart’s Nancy Wilson Recalls The First Time Eddie Van Halen Played An Acoustic Guitar

Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson opened up about the background of her tribute song named ‘4 Eddie’ to the late Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen and apparently, the song was inspired from the day when Wilson gave Eddie Van Halen his first acoustic guitar.

As many of you know, Nancy Wilson once revealed an old story back when Heart was opening for Van Halen during an interview. Wilson revealed a shocking fact about Eddie Van Halen, apparently, he did not have an acoustic guitar until Wilson gave him one that day.

The day after, Wilson got a call from Eddie and stated that he could not sleep and created an outstanding piece with the acoustic guitar. Wilson praised Eddie during that interview and referred to him as a genuine, sweet, and wonderful person.

During a more recent interview with AXS Tv, Nancy Wilson once again remembered that special moment while revealing the story behind the tribute song she has for Eddie Van Halen in her upcoming debut solo album, ‘You and Me.’ Apparently, the debut song is the version of what Wilson remembers from Eddie’s piece that night.

Here is what Wilson said:

It’s a minute-and-a-half instrumental acoustic piece for him, a tribute to him because I was the first – when we were touring in the ’80s, he was like, ‘You’re really good on that acoustic guitar, you’re a really good guitar player on acoustic.’ And I said, ‘Why don’t you ever play on acoustic?’ And he said, ‘Well, I don’t really have an acoustic.’ I was like, ‘What?! You don’t have an acoustic? Well, you do know’ – and I gave him one.

Then, flash to the crack of dawn, later that morning – that night – he calls up on my phone in the hotel room, you know, before cell phones, everybody had each other’s room numbers, which is a dangerous thing. He called me and he said, ‘Oh my god, I got this thing I wrote on this acoustic.'”

She added:

He was up all night obviously, and he played it for me over the phone, and it was really gorgeous. I’m hoping somewhere it’s recorded because it’s one of the prettiest things I ever heard on a guitar. And so I tried to, I thought really hard about how to tribute him with a piece that my vague memory of what he played for me might’ve been sort of like that.

So I made it kind of almost classical to start and it had to rock in the middle, and then kind of classical bookends with the ending, with the little interesting button at the end of that – I’m very happy with it.”

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