Celebrities

Tribute to Eddie Van Halen

Aside Markozen.com Celebrities, Music

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen (January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was a Dutch-American musician, songwriter, producer, and inventor. He was the main songwriter and lead guitarist of the American rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded in 1972 with his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Mark Stone, and singer David Lee Roth. He was best known for popularizing the tapping guitar solo technique, allowing rapid arpeggios to be played with two hands on the fretboard. In 2012, he was voted number one in a Guitar World magazine reader’s poll for “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

Born on January 26, 1955, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Edward Lodewijk van Halen was the son of Jan van Halen and Eugenia van Halen (née van Beers). Jan was a Dutch clarinetist, saxophonist, and pianist, and Eugenia was an Indo (Eurasian) from Rangkasbitung on the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The family eventually resettled in Nijmegen.

In February 1962, the Van Halen family moved from the Netherlands to the United States, settling in Pasadena, California. Both Eddie and his older brother, Alex van Halen, were naturalized as U.S. citizens. The brothers learned to play the piano as children starting at the age of six. They commuted from Pasadena to San Pedro to study with an elderly piano teacher, Stasys Kalvaitis.

 

Barack and Michelle Obama Buy a Mansion on Martha’s Vineyard

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The Obamas have made tens of millions of dollars through book royalties. Speaking engagements also bring in millions of dollars.  

In 2006 the Obamas reported income of $916,000. Barack’s second book “Audacity of Hope”, released in October 2006, was a massive hit, selling millions of copies and rocketing the Obama’s income to $4.2 million in 2007. Their income continued to swell in the following years thanks to Barack’s 2008 successful campaign and election. To this day, Barack Obama earns $3.75 for every hardcover copy and $1.12 for every paperback he sells. Royalties remained healthy in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

In February 2017, Barack and Michelle Obama received a $60 million advance for the combined rights to their autobiographies.

Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have purchased a seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom home in Edgartown, Massachusetts, according to reports. The price for the 29-acre estate was $11.75 million, public records show.

 

 

 

 

Jimmy Dean

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Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor, and businessman.

He rose to fame for his 1961 country music crossover hit into rock and roll with “Big Bad John”.

His acting career included appearing in the early seasons in the Daniel Boone TV series as the sidekick of the famous frontiersman played by star Fess Parker. Later he was on the big screen in a supporting role as billionaire Willard Whyte in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

Gene Simmons in the studio

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IMAGE: WARING ABBOTT/GETTY IMAGES

After a slow start in the early 1970s, New York glam-metal band KISS rose to stardom after adopting their signature makeup and stage personas.

The Starchild, Demon, Catman, and Space Ace achieved massive commercial success not only through their albums and concerts but through their characters, which they licensed to comic books, costumes, toys, board games and other merchandise.

In the spring of 1980, just after the release of their eighth studio album Unmasked, bassist and lead vocalist Gene Simmons visited a cramped New York studio in full Demon garb, axe in hand, for a photo shoot with a narrow backdrop and a very patient makeup artist.

IMAGE: WARING ABBOTT/GETTY IMAGES

IMAGE: WARING ABBOTT/GETTY IMAGES

IMAGE: WARING ABBOTT/GETTY IMAGES

IMAGE: WARING ABBOTT/GETTY IMAGES

IMAGE: WARING ABBOTT/GETTY IMAGES