“I wasn’t with a known band, as opposed to Van Halen, who had a hit record, so he did it, and the world got to hear it”: Harvey Mandel was one of the pioneers of the two-handed tapping technique – yet he claims he was never properly credited for it

Left-Canned Heat guitarist Harvey "The Snake" Mandel performs with The Heroes of Woodstock at Route 66 Casino's Legends Theater on December 31, 2009 in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Right- Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen performs on the Diver Down tour at Madison Square Garden circa 1982 in New York, New York.

One of Harvey Mandel's biggest contributions to rock ’n’ roll history is his role in the evolution of two-handed tapping.

While the likes of Jimmie Webster, Vittorio Camardese, Steve Hackett and even Ace Frehley have been cited among early electric guitar tappers, the former Canned Heat guitarist was using the guitar technique several years before it surged in popularity thanks to a certain Eddie Van Halen – something for which Mandel asserts he is not often properly credited.