Everyone knows about Steve Lukather. Best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Toto, he is wide in the music industry for his versatile musical accomplishments. Toto is also known for their hit songs like ‘Hold the Line’, ‘Rosanna’, and ‘Africa’. They mostly played a blend of pop, rock, soul, hard rock, and jazz. Over the years they have sold more than 40 million records worldwide and have won six Grammy awards.
Steve Lukather, was a good friend of Eddie Van Halen. And a while back, he reflected on his friendship and shared how Eddie lied about his age to everyone. While talking with Rick Beato, Steve Lukather remembered,
“We had heard about a guy named Van Halen because Michael Landau and I used to go to Guitar Center and play guitars we couldn’t afford. We were good, and the guys would come up and say, ‘You know, there’s another guy that comes in here from Pasadena; you guys should meet him.’”
Back then, hearing Van Halen was an interesting thing for him and the rest of his friends. Stevie admitted he thought Van was Eddie’s first name. He added, “‘Van Halen…’ I thought a guy was named Van Halen, like a dude! I didn’t know it was a family [name]. And we auditioned for [a festival] when we were 16, but we didn’t tell him. Me, Landau, and John Pierce; we had a band. We got the gig until they found out we were 16. And then Van Halen was the headline act, and they had been for a while.”
That’s when he knew about him. He said, when Van Halen came out for the first time, Eddie lied about his age. He also revealed that they hung out and had an all-nighter together. He said, “It was like, ‘How the f*ck [did you do] all these?’ because he was two years older than me. I go, ‘They said you were this age!’ and he goes, ‘That wasn’t me. They lowered my age because they somehow thought it would make me cool.’ In the end, everybody found out. I’m not telling any secrets; he’s two years older than me. He would have been 67.”
No wonder, Steve thought Eddie’s name was ‘Van Halen’. To be fair most people thought about his name in such a way back in the day. It’s also funny how Eddie just casually lowered his age just because it would be cool.
Three years back Eddie passed away and it was a gut-wrenching moment for Steve. He reflected on his death by saying he misses his friend more than anything. Missing him, he said, “I loved the man. There’s nothing to argue about how great he was as a musician. I don’t have to. Who’s gonna argue? He was one of the greats to ever pick up rock and roll guitar — he changed everything. And he was my friend. And I miss my friend more than anything. I miss the roar of one of his vehicles scaring the fuck out of my neighbors. And the way he laughed, and the way he f****** hugged me whenever he came by… “
“The last thing I have in my phone is just a heart that he sent me.”
