BLABBERMOUTH.NET
Legendary singer-songwriter and guitarist
David Crosby has drawn the ire of
VAN HALEN fans for seemingly minimizing the talents of recently deceased guitarist
Eddie Van Halen.
After a
Twitter follower asked
Crosby for his opinion of
Eddie,
David replied simply: "Meh ...." His bluntness was seen as out of line by a number of other
Twitter users, including
TESTAMENT guitarist
Alex Skolnick, who chimed in: "I appreciate @thedavidcrosby too much for this to get in the way, but a much better answer would have been: 'I know he meant a lot to so many but his sound & style just weren't my thing.'"
Alex then pointed out that American singer-songwriter
Patti Smith, who has never appeared to be much of a
VAN HALEN fan either, still managed to post a polite note following
Eddie's passing.
L.A. GUNS axeman
Tracii Guns concurred, firing back at
Crosby: "Wrong answer as fuck and rude as fuck!!! There are better ways to say you don't care for someone's music. That was very disrespectful. And yes straight out fuck you and your smug answer."
The following day,
Crosby took to his
Twitter to clarify his original comments. "[
Jimi]
Hendrix changed the world of guitar. Nobody else really," he wrote. "[L]ook I get it ..many of you loved
Van Halen ....and the one time I met [him] he was nice ....and he was talented ...meh to me means I don't care that much ....and I don't ...doesn't mean he wasn't good ,he was but not for me".
The 79-year-old
Crosby is a two-time Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer, inducted as a member of both the widely innovative folk-rock band
THE BYRDS — with whom he first rose to stardom — and the
Woodstock era-defining group
CROSBY, STILLS & NASH.
Crosby played at some of rock's most culturally significant concerts, including the
Monterey Pop Festival,
Woodstock and the
Altamont Free Concert. He is also one of rock's most prolific collaborators, recording and playing with
Bob Dylan, members of the
GRATEFUL DEAD,
Neil Young,
Jackson Browne and others.
Eddie died on Tuesday (October 6) at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. His wife,
Janie, was by his side, along with his son,
Wolfgang, and
Alex,
Eddie's brother and
VAN HALEN drummer.
The iconic
VAN HALEN axeman passed away from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked
Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.
Image credit:
Live From Here
