I saw this on Twitter last night and then heard it this morning on “What the Facts” so I decided to look it up and read the article (How Eddie Van Halen Transformed Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’) for myself.

The fact that Eddie Van Halen improvised the solo is amazing in and of itself. But then when you hear that he changed it and hoped Michael Jackson would be ok with it or when you read this part:

“Van Halen worked for free, was not credited on the album and didn’t appear in the video.”

That is simply amazing.

RIP Edde Van Halen