Legendary fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth was a hero countless musicians who dreamed of innovation.
Among Holdsworth's disciples was longtime friend Eddie Van Halen. The two came close to collaborating in 1983 on Holdsworth's album, Road Games, along with VH producer Ted Templeman, but the plans never materialized (via Ultimate Classic Rock).
While we never got a studio recording of the two, what we do have is a near-13-minute recording of the pair jamming circa 1982 or 1983, when Van Halen joined Holdsworth's band onstage at The Roxy in Hollywood.
Van Halen was asked by a fan in 2013 via his website whether he had ever jammed with Holdsworth. He recalled two stories:
"I was in the process of helping [Holdsworth] get a record deal, and somehow he ended up spending the night at my house," Van Halen said. When the two woke up in the morning, Holdsworth remembered he had committed to be at the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood for a seminar at noon.
"So I raced him down there just in time. Before I knew it, I was onstage with him and his band, and we were both answering questions and playing together. It was quite fun, actually, and very interesting, especially for the students."
The pair of guitar legends performed together again later in front of a general audience at The Roxy.
"I got up and played the last song with them, which was a riff that Jeff Berlin (Allan’s bass player) and I came up with, so I was more comfortable because I was familiar with what we played."
You can hear audio from that appearance above.
It's pretty easy to distinguish Holdsworth's delicate, saxophone-like approach from Van Halen's fiery shredding. It certainly makes you wonder what they would have created together in the studio.
You can listen to the recording above.
Photo: Getty Images