Eddie Van Halen departs to Valhalla after a long battle with cancer
Legendary guitar virtuoso and rock star Eddie Van Halen died on October 6, 2020 after a long battle with cancer. He was 65 year old.
His son, Wolfgang – which became the main bassist of the band when they reunited in 2007, announced the shocking 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 shared. “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.”
Van Halen and his brother Alex founded their legendary band in 1972, and became a unstoppable force in the early ’70s and ’80s rock scene in USA. Van Halen released 12 studio albums and were nominated for multiple Grammy Awards. They won the 1992 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal for the album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.
Van Halen is 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States; the band has sold 56 million albums in the States and more than 80 million worldwide, making them one of the best-selling groups of all time. As of 2007, Van Halen was one of only five rock bands with two studio albums that sold more than 10 million copies in the United States and is also tied for the most multi-platinum albums by an American band. Additionally, Van Halen has charted 13 number-one hits on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock chart. VH1 ranked the band seventh on a list of the top 100 hard rock artists of all time.
Rest In Peace Eddie, you will be missed.
