Jack White pays tribute to Eddie Van Halen with ‘SNL’ performance
By
Cortney Moore, Fox News
Published
Oct. 11, 2020, 1:47 p.m. ET
Jack White paid tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen this week on “Saturday Night Live.”
The White Stripes singer and guitarist, 45, served as the sketch comedy show’s musical guest and performed “Lazaretto,” a 2015 Grammy-nominated hit from his second solo album of the same name.
Though White didn’t perform any of Van Halen’s songs while he was on stage, he jammed out with a vibrant blue guitar that was designed by the late rock legend.
“I thought it could be a nice gesture for me to use this blue Eddie Van Halen model guitar for one of the songs tonight on SNL. The guitar was designed by Eddie (with a few customizations I had added),” White shared in an Instagram post.
“Eddie was very kind to me and saw to it that this guitar was made for me to my specs. I won’t even insult the man’s talent by trying to play one of his songs tonight,” he continued in his commemoration post. “Thanks again Eddie for this guitar and rest in peace sir.”
Van Halen died on Tuesday at the age of 65 after a private battle with throat cancer. The Dutch-born American rock star co-founded Van Halen with his brother in 1972, and he served as the group’s main songwriter and lead guitarist until his death.
In other parts of White’s “SNL” set, he performed a remix of The White Stripes’ 2003 hit “Ball and Biscuit” on a gray guitar in addition to his 2016 collaboration with Beyoncé, “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” and Blind Willie Johnson’s 1928 song “Jesus Is Coming Soon.”
White was a last-minute replacement for country star Morgan Wallen, 27, who was originally scheduled to perform on the show but was passed over due to the studio’s coronavirus protocol.
Wallen was spotted partying in close proximity to other people in a viral TikTok video earlier this week. The video of Wallen drinking and exchanging kisses has been viewed more than 3.7 million times.