Eddie Van Halen lost his battle with throat cancer today at the age of 65. His son, Wolfgang, broke the news on Twitter. “I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning.
“He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift.
“My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.
“I love you so much, Pop.”
Eddie was known as a Guitar Gd for the strumming he did with the band he founded. Van Halen got their start in 1972, but they would not release their debut album until 1978. While the band had some commercial success with their first five albums, their sixth album launched them into superstardom. 1984, garnered them several hits including Jump, Panama, and Hot for Teacher.
After the global success of that album, they lost their lead singer, David Lee Roth, and gained a new one with Sammy Hagar. Crazy, right? So crazy, they named their first album together 5150. That CD and singer gave them a few more hits with Why Can’t This Be Love and Dreams.
Eventually, they lost Hagar and reunited with Roth. They had a few reunion tours, with Eddie’s only son Wolfgang playing bass, but have not toured in a while.
Along with Van Halen, he had several guitar solos with other artists. You can hear his magic fingers on Michael Jackson’s Beat It. After listening to Van Halen’s 1978 instrumental song Eruption, you can understand why people wanted to riff with him.
Van Halen has been dealing with cancer on and off since 2000.
Today, let’s rock out to Van Halen and keep Eddie’s vivacious spirit alive.
