Edward Lodewijk van Halen, born in Amsterdam on January 26, 1955, is the second child of Jan van Halen and Eugenia. He has an older brother, Alex. Edward (and his brother also) received training in classical piano as children, but it was ultimately rock music that won his interest, with Eddie deciding to channel his musical energies through the drums and Alex switching to the guitar. As it turned out, Alex - who practiced on his brother's kit while Eddie was out delivering papers to pay for it - developed faster as a drummer