Eddie Van Halen‘s work resides on a few incredibly iconic tracks; you just don’t know it because he didn’t take credit for them. The majority of Eddie Van Halen’s notoriety comes from his groundbreaking work with Van Halen. However, the man exerted such a strong musical influence that he often helped his contemporaries without receiving any credit. One of those musicians was Gene Simmons of KISS, and the song Van Halen helped with was Kiss’ 1977 classic, “Christine Sixteen”.
Eddie Van Halen is a musical doctor; he has contributed to songs by Michael Jackson, Brian May, LL Cool J, Black Sabbath, Roger Waters, and several others. Before he was gracing the biggest stages with his own band and before the release of their debut album, Eddie Van Halen was helping Gene Simmons with a couple of demos in addition to “Christine Sixteen”.
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How Gene Simmons Leaned on Eddie Van Halen for Help
By 1977, KISS had solidified their status as major rock stars with their two albums, Alive! and Destroyer. Like all musicians, they felt the need to keep that success going, and one song that helped further their success was “Christine Sixteen” and the album Love Gun.
Recalling how Eddie Van Halen helped on the track, Simmons told Rolling Stone, “Around ’77, I wrote ‘Christine Sixteen’ and two other songs. On the way back from Japan, at one in the morning, I called Eddie and Alex [Van Halen] and said, ‘I’ve got some songs — you want to help me do these demos?’ And they did. Eddie did the solo on ‘Christine Sixteen’ in one take.”
“I loved it so much that I made Ace Frehley copy it note for note. So when you hear ‘Christine Sixteen,’ that’s Eddie’s solo you’re hearing, but copied by Ace,” continued Gene Simmons. In addition to helping with “Christine Sixteen”, Eddie and Alex reportedly also helped Simmons on “Got Love For Sale” and “Tunnel Of Love.”
Following the release of “Christine Sixteen”, the single peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Furthermore, Love Gun peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. So, next time you listen to “Christine Sixteen” or Love Gun, just remember that you’re not solely hearing KISS’ work, but also the work of Eddie and Alex Van Halen.
MANDATORY CREDIT David Tan/Shinko Music/Getty Images
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