Jack White performed on Saturday Night Live last night (October 10) and paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen who had died of cancer just days earlier at age 65.
During White’s fourth appearance on the long running sketch comedy series, he performed “Lazaretto” while using a cobalt blue guitar designed by Eddie Van Halen. White also did a mid-solo finger tap to emulate the late guitar legend. Watch it below.
Before his performance, White wrote, “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). eddie was very kind to me and saw to it that this guitar was made for me to my specs. i wont even insult the man’s talent by trying to play one of his songs tonight. thanks again eddie for this guitar and rest in peace sir.”
The musician was a last minute replacement for Morgan Wallen, a country singer who had been dismissed when it was discovered that he had violated Covid-19 safety precautions.
The power trio comprised of White (vocals & guitar), Dominic Davis (bass), and Daru Jones (drums), began the night with “Don’t Hurt Yourself” (White’s collaboration with Beyoncé) before transitioning into “Ball and Biscuit” from the White Stripes’ fourth album, Elephant.
Watch them perform “Don’t Hurt Yourself” on SNL
The White Stripes Greatest Hits arrives on December 4 on Third Man Records/Columbia Records. The GRAMMY-winning “Lazaretto” (the title track of White’s acclaimed sophomore solo album) followed as the second performance of the evening.
Watch the band perform “Lazaretto,” complete with the homage to Eddie Van Halen
Related: Rockers pay tribute to Eddie Van Halen
The program also showed a brief clip of EVH from Van Halen’s 1987 performance on the series.
❤️ Eddie Van Halen pic.twitter.com/XTlh8qZR6J
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) October 12, 2020
The first-ever official anthology of recordings from the White Stripes is a career-spanning collection highlighting 26 previously released songs – from the late Nineties through early 2000s underground anthems, and worldwide stadium chants.
[easy_sign_up title=”Sign up for the Best Classic Bands Newsletter”]
