Van Halen's 1978 tour with Black Sabbath was not only one of the band's first big breaks, it was also the start of a long-lasting friendship between a pair of guitar icons, Eddie Van Halen and Tony Iommi.
Eddie would later bond with many a young artist over their mutual enthusiasm for music and for the electric guitar. It seems Iommi was the one who showed the young phenom the way, despite Sabbath having no shortage of problems of its own at the time.
Eddie and Iommi stayed in touch over the years, and more than a decade-and-a-half later, Eddie sat in on sessions for Black Sabbath's 1994 Cross Purposes album.
Van Halen had just played Iommi's hometown of Birmingham, England, when Iommi went backstage to meet the band. He invited Eddie to come jam with Sabbath at rehearsal.
The following day, Iommi tells Rolling Stone he picked Eddie up from his hotel.
"We went down to the music shop in Birmingham. I said, 'Can you lend us a guitar for Eddie?' And of course, they went, 'Oh, oh, wha?' [Laughs] So Eddie came in with me, and we got one of his guitars, his own model. And he came to rehearsal."
Eddie jammed with Black Sabbath on some of his favorite songs of theirs — Eddie had a particular fondness for "Into the Void" — and the band went about presenting some of their new material.
"I think it was 'Evil Eye, and I said, 'Go on, you play the solo on this,'" Iommi recalled. "He did and it was really great. When we recorded it, of course, I tried to duplicate that, but I couldn't [Laughs]."
Iommi adds that he's positive Eddie's solo was recorded and is laying around in some collection of tapes in his house.
"It was a real gem," he added.
From one innovator to another, Iommi recalled Eddie as a "genuinely great person" and a hugger who always showed affection for his friends. The two would often have dinner together when they were in the same town.
As a musician, few were more important than Eddie, added the Black Sabbath co-founder.
"He's probably one of the biggest influences that you could have on people, from his generation onwards," Iommi said. "He came up with something completely different. How hard is that, to come up with something different guitar-wise? I think he's inspired so many people. There's millions of people out there all trying to do that tapping stuff and play like Eddie and play Eddie's solos. I think he's had a huge impression on millions and millions of guitar players."
Eddie Van Halen passed away last Tuesday, October 6, at age 65 after many years battling throat cancer.
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