The Heartbreaking Way Wolfgang Van Halen Honors His Late Father When He Performs

Mammoth WVH founder and guitarist, Wolfgang Van Halen, lost his father and best friend, Eddie Van Halen in 2020, and he's found a heartbreaking way to honor him. Eddie, who was one of the most influential members of the Grammy Award-winning rock group, Van Halen, succumbed to throat cancer in October of that year. Following his death, Wolfgang, who's also the son of actor Valerie Bertinelli, highlighted his tragic passing with a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, the impact of his father's death has continued to permeate throughout his personal life and also through his career.

During a June 2021 interview with People, Wolfgang, who's carved out his own lane within the rock sphere, explained the depths of his grief. "It's really tough," said the star. "I guess I'm a good actor when it comes to pretending that everything is okay. But it's really not." He continued, "What really helps me keep going is my dad, because if I just gave up and stopped and crawled in a hole, which I feel like doing every day, I know he'd be really pissed off at me." Wolfgang also admitted that he prioritized his father's well-being over pushing his music during Eddie's final days. "Not a single regret," he added of his choice. "I put everything on hold with my album to spend every waking second with my dad." Since Eddie's death, Wolfgang has done his best to keep his spirit alive.

Wolfgang Van Halen is crafting a remarkable legacy as evidenced by his 2022 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song and the enthusiastic reactions at his concerts. While his father's death has left a large hole in his life, Wolfgang found ways to include Eddie Van Halen in his musical journey. During a April 2024 interview with the print version of People Magazine, Wolfgang spoke about the significance of concluding his gigs by gesturing towards the sky. "The reason I do what I do is because of my dad," he said. "So I think it's very important to establish that to thank my dad every night, every time I'm on stage. Just to thank my father and to know that he's always there with me every night."

However, you shouldn't expect to see Wolfgang attempting to fill the void of Eddie's loss through his music anytime soon. Although Wolfgang was introduced to the music industry by his father, and even temporarily played bass for Van Halen during his younger years, the rocker expressed his hesitance to play his father's songs without him bring present. "I only want to play with (my father). And he's not here to play it," Wolfgang told TODAY. "That's a reason that people don't think about when they constantly demand that I play Van Halen covers at a Mammoth show."

Wolfgang Van Halen may not feel the need to touch Eddie Van Halen's music, but that doesn't mean it's not ever present within his own career. In 2020, Wolfgang debuted his music video for his song "Distance," comprised entirely of never-before-seen footage showcasing various milestones during his upbringing. The video, which also included shots of his mother, Valerie Bertinelli, supported the song's emotional lyrics where Wolfgang somberly tells Eddie that he's happy he's "found a place" beyond the physical world (via Genius). And though Wolfgang is struggling to process the loss, he also assures Eddie that they will always be connected, despite the distance between them.

During an interview with ET, Wolfgang shared his reasoning for concluding the emotional project with a supportive voicemail from his dad. "He said stuff like that all the time and luckily, going through my phone, I found a couple of voicemails that were wonderful," he said. "I thought that one was a really great way to cap the video off, to really show people how loving of a father he was." As for how he feels about Eddie's enduring musical impact? "I think the way we look back at people like Mozart and Beethoven — you put that amount of time ahead of us and I think people will still be looking back at him."