Kiss Legend Gene Simmons Paid A Heartbreaking Tribute To Fellow Rockstar Eddie Van Halen

After legendary musician Eddie Van Halen passed away in October 2020, it seemed as though the whole music world came out to pay tribute to him and his incredible talent. But one salute in particular stood out: Kiss frontman Gene Simmons gave a touching elegy on TV show Good Morning Britain, one that stood as a fitting tribute to their long and deep-rooted friendship.

Simmons and Eddie Van Halen go back a long way – such a long way, in fact, that plenty don’t know about their initial connection. Without Simmons, the world might never have met Van Halen at all. When the Kiss star first met the band in Los Angeles, they weren’t signed. So it was he who helped the band put together their first demo and got them on the road to mega-fame.

In 2016 Simmons remembered to Classic Rock magazine, “I went to see The Boyzz play at a place called The Starwood, and the first band is a group called Van Halen. By the second song they had knocked me out. I was like, ‘What the hell? Look at the guitar player, look at the singer doing acrobatics and stuff!’ So immediately I was waiting for them backstage.”

Simmons went on, “When I got there, Edward and David [Lee Roth] and all the guys – they were babies – were telling me how excited they were that I was there. They were big Kiss fans and they often did “Firehouse” in their sets… and they were excited because there was a yogurt manufacturer that was going to invest in them. I begged them and said, ‘Don’t do it! I’ll finance your demo and fly you to New York.’ And I did.”

Everyone quickly began doing what they did best, making music. Simmons told Rolling Stone magazine in 2020, “Eddie did all the guitar parts live. He broke into a solo live in the studio. A few takes, and done, 14 or 15 songs. With Eddie – and he actually liked to be called Edward – it was like the street clothes came off and you’re standing next to a superhero.”