Rock star Eddie Van Halen died on Tuesday at the age of 65.
Eighties guitarist and band co-founder Van Halen had battled throat cancer for over a decade. He died at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., With his wife Janie, son Wolfgang and brother and drummer Alex by his side, according to TMZ.
“ I can’t believe I have to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, lost his long and difficult battle with cancer this morning, ” Wolfgang said in a tweet. He added: ‘He was the best dad I could ever ask for. Every moment that I 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.
Van Halen is considered one of the greatest guitarists in rock music and was a founding member of the hugely successful rock band named after him and his drummer brother. The group was formed in 1972 with Michael Anthony on bass and David Lee Roth singing. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
The guitar virtuoso also fueled the unrivaled fiery solo of Michael Jackson’s hit ‘Beat It’ and became a god of rock.
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons wrote: ‘My heart is broken. Eddie was not only a God of the guitar, but a truly beautiful soul. Rest in peace, Eddie! He first saw a then unknown Eddie perform in 1976, signing his band to produce a 15 song demo.
Simmons has previously said of their performance: “ Even though the band was made up of three musicians, a big sound was coming out of it and Eddie was pounding his neck – which I had never seen on guitar done before – with speed and precision. in the melody. They just didn’t look like anyone else. There was a kind of fury.
Aerosmith’s Instagram account posted an image of Eddie, writing: ‘Rest in peace Eddie Van Halen. We will miss you. #Legend.’ Singer Sammy Hagar said he was ‘heartbroken and speechless’ after the former band member died.
Sad loss: Musician Eddie Van Halen died on Tuesday at the age of 65. Seen in April 2017
Happy on stage: The star is seen here in 1984 at Madison Square Garden in New York
Van Halen (left to right) Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth. The group is pictured in 1978
“ I can’t believe I have to write this but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, lost his long and difficult battle with cancer this morning, ” his son Wolfgang Van Halen said in a tweet. He added: ‘He was the best dad I could ever ask for. Every moment that I 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’
Eddie, who never really learned to read music, has experienced a sudden decline in his health over the past 72 hours, according to TMZ.
His throat cancer is believed to have spread to his brain as well as other parts of his body, he added. The site added that he had been “in and out of the hospital over the past year”.
The veteran rocker, 64, was diagnosed with cancer almost 20 years ago and had traveled between the United States and Germany for treatment.
Eddie and his brother Alex founded Van Halen in the early 1970s in Los Angeles and the hard rock band became a staple of the famous Sunset Strip before releasing their self-titled debut album in 1978.
The album reached number 19 on the Billboard charts, becoming one of the most successful debuts of the decade.
Eddie Van Halen pictured shopping at the farmers market with Janie Liszewski
He died at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California, with his wife Janie by his side. The couple is pictured
He struggled with alcohol and cocaine abuse after he started smoking at the age of 12. He attended the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, declaring himself sober in 2008.
Eddie had a third of his tongue removed in 2000 and was reportedly declared cancer free in 2002, but has now been to Germany for radiation therapy for the past five years. In November, he had bowel problems and had undergone chemotherapy in recent months.
Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains said of his friend in 2019: “ Ed is a type of guy once or twice in a century. There are Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen.
“These two guys rocked the world on its axis.
He had his son Wolfgang with One Day At A Time star Valerie Bertinelli. The couple married in 1981 and separated in 2001. His mini self became Van Halen’s bassist in 2006.
A love story: he was married to Valérie Bertinelli with whom he has a son Wolfgang; seen in the 80s
Born in Amsterdam, Eddie grew up in a musical house; his father was a classically trained clarinet and saxophone player.
He received piano lessons as a child before the family moved to America at the age of seven, settling in Pasadena, California.
After his band was signed with Warner Bros Records, producer Ted Templeman said, “ There were like 11 people in the audience, and they were playing like they were at the Forum. ”
After recording the group’s 22-year-old debut album, Van Halen is said to have ransacked their hotel room in Scotland when they learned it had gone gold in the United States.
He was then invited by producer Quincy Jones to perform the guitar solo on Michael Jackson’s Beat It before Jump became the only number one in the group.
After recording the group’s 22-year-old debut album, Van Halen is said to have ransacked their hotel room in Scotland when they learned it had gone gold in the United States. Producer Quincy Jones then asked him to perform the guitar solo on Michael Jackson’s Beat It before Jump became the group’s only number one.
Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony of Van Halen in London in 1978
Van Halen said he thought he got throat cancer from putting a metal opening pick in his mouth while on stage, even though he had been a heavy smoker.
Eddie told Billboard in 2015: ‘I used metal picks – they’re brass and copper – that I still held in my mouth, exactly where I got cancer of the tongue. .
“Also, I mostly live in a recording studio filled with electromagnetic energy. So that’s a theory. I mean, I smoked and took a lot of drugs and a lot of everything. But at the same time, my lungs are totally clear. This is only my own theory, but the doctors say it is possible.
Eddie’s friend and TOTO guitarist Steve Lukather said “ health issues ” kept the band – which is also made up of vocalist David Lee Roth, Eddie’s brother Alex Van Halen, who plays drums, and Eddie Wolfgang Van Halen’s son on bass guitar – to tour. .
In 2012, the legendary rock guitarist underwent emergency surgery for a “ severe episode of diverticulitis ” – small pockets formed in the lining of the intestine that can cause a lot of pain when inflamed or inflamed. infection.
Following its operation, the group postponed the Japanese part of their tour.
The group last performed in October 2015 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and there were rumors that the group classic programming was ready to happen for the first time since 1984.