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On October 6, 2020, the greatest guitarist of his generation moved on to the big jam session in the sky. Edward Lodewijk Van Halen has left the building and left behind a planet irrevocably changed by his time on it. As lead guitarist of hard rockers Van Halen, he rewrote the rule book not just on how guitars are played, but how they sound, what they look like and even how they’re made. Beyond his bewildering solos, which featured unprecedented speed and and whammy bar gymnastics and pioneered the use of two-handed tapping, he was a brilliant rhythm guitarist and songwriter. If you want to know what it sounded like to be a teenager in suburban America in the early 1980s, it sounded like a Van Halen song.

Though rooted in early ’70s boogie rock and proto-metal, traditionalists Van Halen were not. Eddie’s guitar playing could make even the most bluesy riffs sound like a rocket ship blasting into the stratosphere. The band’s image signaled a new era and the glam revolution to come. Dungarees and bell bottoms were out. In came zebra prints, bright neon colors and zig zag racing stripes, like the one’s Eddie painted across his guitars.

Ascending to Godhead at the dawn of the MTV era, Van Halen’s music videos embodied their four-ring circus personality and party ‘til the roof caves in ethos. As rock’s preeminent virtuoso, Eddie Van Halen became a cultural icon, the go-to guitar hero who made everything more awesome by his mere presence. Plus, he was fucking cool, had a hot wife, and with his permanent grin seemed to enjoy playing his music as much as we liked listening to it. Quite simply, there will never be another guitarist like him. Here are 10 times Eddie Van Halen blew up your television.

'Better Off Dead'

Though not a hit in theaters, this 1985 teen comedy had a second life during the heyday of VHS rentals. In a segment sure to be imitated in a future season of Stranger Things, a young John Cusack creates a hamburger Frankenstein that also plays guitar, which looks suspiciously like one of Mr. Van Halen’s customized creations. What does he play along to? Van Halen’s “Everybody Wants Some.”

Where to stream Better Off Dead

'Two and A Half Men'

In 2009, Eddie made a cameo on this long running sit-com. Not only did he blow up the television, he blew up the bathroom, warning a pre-departure Charlie Sheen “You might want to give it a minute,” before dropping some quick shreds.

Where to stream Two And A Half Men

'Late Night with David Letterman'

From 1982 to 1993, David Letterman hosted Late Night on NBC, providing a hip young alternative to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Many musicians dropped by to jam with Paul Shaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band, including the greatest guitarist in the Western Hemisphere (and probably the Eastern, too).

'Saturday Night Live'

When his then wife Valerie Bertinelli hosted Saturday Night Life in 1987, “Eddie was bored,” according to then musical director G.E. Smith. After finding the band room, the two guitarists put together an instrumental jam featuring Mr. Bertinelli’s pyrotechnics and melted many faces. Just as good was the “Dinner at the Van Halen’s” skit, which imagined roadies helping facilitate a dinner party at the rocker’s home.

"Right Now"

While fans still debate the merits of “Van Hagar,” as the period with lead singer Sammy Hagar is known, this 1992 music video was a massive hit and earned three MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year. Amongst the various text messages flashing across the screen during the video are “Right now, Ed’s got his hands full,” during yet another brilliant guitar solo.

'Back To The Future'

What does Marty McFly use to scare his father into romantically pursuing his mother in this 1985 blockbuster? Why the futuristic guitar sounds of “Edward Van Halen” loaded into a portable cassette player of course. Later on, McFly stuns a ’50s high school dance with a guitar solo featuring two-handed tapping and speedy licks reminiscent of the master himself.

Where to stream Back To The Future

Michael Jackson's "Beat It" Music Video

Wait, Michael Jackson? What the does this have to do with Eddie Van Halen? Well, EVH only contributed the guitar solo in this song which, along with its cinematic music video, helped MJ break down MTV’s color barrier and conquer the pop charts. Probably the most famous guest guitar solo of all-time, the studio monitors caught fire while Eddie was recording it.

"Panama" at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards

There’s been a lot of chatter over the past couple years about how rock is dead. Tell it to Taylor Swift, who gleefully introduced the reconstituted VH at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Tell it to J-Lo, who was shaking it to the boys from Pasadena. Sometimes you gotta let the old guys show everybody how it’s done.

"Hot For Teacher Music" Music Video

Would have loved to be a fly on the wall when they pitched the video concept to the record company and said, “…and then the teacher rips off her dress and starts dancing on a table in the lunch room surrounded by little kids.” Though it’s over the top sexism would get you run out of the country nowadays, there’s no denying this video’s importance and entertainment value. It’s self-referential inside jokes (little kids playing the band members) would be copied many times over and helped make the band a household name.

"Eruption" / "You Really Got Me" Music Video

This is where it all began. Perhaps the most famous solo guitar piece of all time, “Eruption” put everyone on notice that a new guitar god had arrived and the band’s rampaging cover of The Kinks’ classic signaled that not only were the ‘60s dead, the ‘70s were almost over, too. Guitar playing, guitars, rock n’ roll would never be the same.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.