Eddie Van Halen and Dimebag Darrell Abbott
were phenomenal guitarists the world was sad to let go. Dimebag Darrell was tragically shot in 2004,
while Eddie Van Halen struggled with throat cancer for years before the disease eventually
took his life on October 6, 2020. Both came from prominent rock bands and both
knew of each other's talents. Dimebag had been a fan of the entire Van Halen
crew for a long time. "It was pretty mainstream heavy metal for
me, ya know? Like Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Black Sabbath
of course. S---, you know, s---like that." Meanwhile, Eddie Van Halen had embraced his
fellow guitarist. Van Halen and Dimebag Darrell had only known
each other for a few weeks before Dimebag Darrell's tragic on-stage murder at the hands
of a gun-wielding fan, but Van Halen clearly came to respect both Darrell Abbott as a person
and Dimebag Darrell as a musician. There isn't much else that could explain how
the two of them got so close in such a limited amount of time. The two guitarists were each part of a pair
of brothers playing guitar and drums in their bands. Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen were the
founding members of Van Halen, while Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbot both played
for Pantera and Damageplan. Both sets of brothers were quite close to
each other and, according to Vinnie Paul, hit it off right away when they met each other. Vinnie Paul told Team Rock that the last words
he and his brother said to each other before Dimebag's tragic death were "Van Halen." It was a mantra of theirs that reminded them
to, quote, "let it all hang out and have a good time." Vinnie Paul also talked about the first time
Dimebag met Eddie Van Halen. They hung out with Van Halen while they were
setting up and doing soundcheck for one of the band's shows, and Dimebag was ecstatic. Vinnie Paul recalled Dimebag's words for Ultimate
Classic Rock after the encounter: "My brother looked at me, and he goes, 'Man,
you know what? If this plane was to go down in a crash right
now, I'd be okay with it. I finally got to meet the dude that made me
wanna play guitar.'" According to his girlfriend, Rita Haney, Dimebag
had offered to pay $30,000 for a striped guitar from Eddie's collection, but Eddie turned
down the offer, telling Dimebag that he'd make a special one for him instead. After Dimebag Darrell's death, Vinnie Paul
and Rita Haney, were discussing which guitar to bury Dimebag with. He'd already had a special casket donated
by the band KISS, so a fitting guitar was next on the docket. Eddie Van Halen called and said he'd pick
one out just for Darrell, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. Everyone was expecting a replica guitar of
the same type that Haney said Dimebag had discussed the night he met Eddie. Instead of red and white colors, Haney requested
yellow and black. Hany told Van Halen: "Darrell always said that the yellow and black
was your toughest guitar." Well, there was no way Eddie was going to
let Dimebag Darrell rest in peace with a newly striped guitar that had never seen any real
action. He had other plans. Eddie came by the day of Dimebag Darrell's
funeral with the guitar in hand. It was indeed the yellow and black that Haney
had requested — the same iconic guitar he held on the back of the Van Halen II album. "He puts this guitar in the casket with Darrell. It's the guitar off of Van Halen II. You know, the black one with the yellow stripes. You know, it's the guitar." Reportedly, he told Haney, quote, "an original
should have an original." Van Halen refused to view Dimebag during the
ceremony so he could remember the late guitarist how he had known him in life. Eddie Van Halen then told Dimebag's friends
and loved ones: "I'm here for the same reason as everyone
else: to give some love back [...] This guy was full of life. He lived and breathed rock 'n' roll."
