It’s been just over a month since the legendary rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen passed away at the age of 65 following a long battle with cancer. Now, his 29 year-old son Wolfgang Van Halen is paying tribute to him with an emotional new song.
Wolfgang explained in a statement on YouTube that he had written the powerful song while his father was battling cancer.
“As my pop continued to struggle with various health issues, I was imagining what my life would be like without him and how terribly I’d miss him,” he said. “While the song is incredibly personal, I think anyone can relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their life. I never intended ‘Distance’ to be the very first piece of music people would hear from me, but I also thought my father would be here to celebrate its release. This is for him. I love and miss you, Pop.”
Wolfgang recorded the song under the name Mammoth WVH, which is also a tribute to Eddie, as the band Van Halen was originally called Mammoth. The touching music video for the song includes old home movies that show Eddie as a young father with his ex-wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli, who is Wolfgang’s mom.
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It ends with a voicemail from Eddie to his son, saying, “I’m just so happy to have you as my son, man. I’m so proud of you. I love you so much. Call me if you get a chance. I just want to hear your voice.”
Eddie died on October 6 after a battle with throat cancer. He had revealed back in 2015 that he’d had one-third of his tongue removed due to cancer that had also spread to his esophagus.
“I used metal picks — they’re brass and copper — which I always held in my mouth, in the exact place where I got the tongue cancer,” Eddie explained to Billboard Magazine at the time. “Plus, I basically live in a recording studio that’s filled with electromagnetic energy. So that’s one theory. I mean, I was smoking and doing a lot of drugs and a lot of everything. But at the same time, my lungs are totally clear. This is just my own theory, but the doctors say it’s possible.”
This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.
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