Eddie Van Halen’s California hometown unveils honorary plaque

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Eddie Van Halen‘s hometown of Pasadena, California, has unveiled an honorary plaque dedicated to the late Van Halen guitarist.

According to Pasadena Now, the plaque is displayed on the outside wall of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, which commemorates Eddie and Van Halen for “reinventing rock ‘n’ roll” and their “connection to Pasadena.”

Eddie and his brother Alex were born in The Netherlands before the Van Halen family moved to Pasadena in 1962. By the time they started their namesake band in the early ’70s, the brothers were local sensations — as the plaque notes, Van Halen performed at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium 14 times between 1975 and 1978.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Pasadena council member Felicia Williams said, “This event brings together history and community to celebrate a world-renowned artist.”

“It’s not just the history of Eddie as a guitar legend, but also the challenges he faced growing up mixed race in Pasadena, which always spoke to me,” Williams added, referring to Eddie’s Dutch-Indonesian heritage.

The plaque arrives a week after the one-year anniversary of Eddie’s death. He died October 6, 2020, at age 65 following a battle with cancer.

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