Gene Simmons recently reflected on the life of Eddie Van Halen.

The KISS co-founder remembers seeing Van Halen for the first time in 1976, “I just happened to be there and witness their greatness at what was still a very early stage…I’ve been credited as the man that discovered Van Halen. No, I didn’t. I did no such thing. I just happened to be there and witness their greatness at what was still a very early stage.”

Simmons described Van Halen as, “A kind and beautiful soul, a genuinely nice person. He was so non-judgmental. It’s impossible to think of him without remembering that ever-present smile of his, or the way that his fingers always flew across the guitar.”

Now, Simmons says young music fans need to learn about Eddie’s talents: “Our millennials need to know about the most important musician since Jimi Hendrix. There will never be another like him.”