Wolfgang Van Halen is remembering his father Eddie Van Halen with a heartfelt tribute on what would have been the Van Halen musician’s 69th birthday.
The Mammoth WVH leader has often shared how much his father meant to him, with the very first song that kicked off his Mammoth WVH career, “Distance,” serving as an ode to Eddie Van Halen.
“I wish you were here so I could give you a big hug, go to dinner, celebrate it with you and make a dumb joke about it being your 69th birthday. Just regular shit. I miss hearing you laugh. I miss laughing with you. It’s the little things,” says Wolfgang in his social media post.
“I’ll do my best to keep a smile on my face and think of you today. But then again, that’s not very different than any other day so far without you. I love and miss you more than you could ever possibly know,” concludes the musician, signing off with a “Happy birthday, pop” and a heart emoji and sharing a photo they took together.
How Fans Responded to Wolfgang’s Tribute to Eddie Van Halen
With such a heartfelt tribute, it brought up a lot of emotions with other fans as well. “I lost my mother to dementia last July,” wrote one fan, continuing. “I know exactly what you’re feeling. Losing a parent is hard. You’re a good man and a good son Wolf. There is no doubt your father would be so proud of you.”
“Lost my dad 30 years ago and the pain is still there. Lost my Mom 11 years ago and the pain is still there. My oldest brother 18 years ago and my one of my sisters last week. You are in my prayers as is your Dad,” added another fan.
A third offered, “Love and hugs to you and your family. It is never easy when you lose a loved one. But I bet he is watching over you with that big smile. He would be so proud of you.” See a few more comments from fans below.
What Wolfgang Van Halen Has Posted Since Eddie Van Halen’s Death
Wolfgang Van Halen has shared when thoughts of his father have been hitting home a little more significantly on social media. One the one month anniversary of Eddie Van Halen’s death in 2020, the multi-instrumentalist offered on Instagram, “Not a second goes by where you’re not on my mind,” said Wolfgang sharing a black and white photo of himself with Eddie. “I miss talking with you. I miss laughing with you. I miss listening to music with you. I miss making music with you. I just miss everything. I love you so much, Pop. It’s really hard being here without you.”
He also noted on Instagram after the one year mark of his father’s death, “One year. You fought so hard for so long, but you were still taken away. It’s just so unfair. I’m not ok. I don’t think I’ll ever be ok. There’s so much I wish I could show you. So many things I wish I could share with you. I wish I could laugh with you again. I wish I could hug you again. I miss you so much it hurts. I’m trying to do my best here without you, but it’s really fucking hard. I hope you’re still proud. I love you with all of my heart, Pop. Watch over me.”
READ MORE: Wolfgang Van Halen Reveals Hardest Part About Being in Van Halen
Who Else Posted About Eddie Van Halen’s Birthday?
It should be noted that Wolfgang was not the only member of the Van Halen family to reflect on Eddie Van Halen on his birthday. While Wolf’s mother and Eddie’s ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli re-shared Wolfgang’s tribute on social media. the late guitarist’s widow Janie Van Halen offered her own heartfelt tribute to her late husband.
“Happy birthday my Peep,” she commented, adding, “I love you and miss you so much, especially on days such as this. Wishing you a beautiful celebration, now with our little boy Kody and my dad too.” The post was accompanied by a poem titled “For Your Birthday in Heaven.”
It read: “Birthdays in Heaven / decorations of gold / Where the years come and go / and you never grow old / Where you celebrate with Angels / and past family there / With no illness in sight / just love everywhere / So I don’t need to worry / how your Birthday was spent / Cause you’re safe in Heaven / and my wishes are sent / Though I know you are safe / even though you’re away / I love and I miss you / a little more today.”
What Van Halen’s Musical Legacy Has Meant to Wolfgang Van Halen
Wolfgang Van Halen has also been very open about the impact that Van Halen’s music has had on his life. In 2022, he told Classic Rock that the band’s 1981 album Fair Warning and the 1995 album Balance were two of the Van Halen records that changed his life.
“Fair Warning, the Roth era album is a very special album to me. It was an album where my dad just said, ‘Fuck it’ and did what he wanted. I think that’s why it’s a cult classic – it was never really a huge album compared to the others…And it’s so quick – it goes by in 36 minutes or something, but it just makes you want to start it again. It’s such a great, dark, fun album that I think gets overlooked,” he explained of Fair Warning.
Of Balance, he added, “Socially, it’s [a] phenomenal-sounding album – it sounds incredible. It might be the best-sounding Hagar album, maybe the best-sounding Van Halen. The Hagar era shows another side of my father’s playing as well. I like how he leaned more into the melodic stuff – some of the most beautiful melodies he’s ever written have been in the Hagar era with things like ‘Dreams’ or the song ‘Not Enough’ from Balance.”
In 2023, he also shared with the Talk Is Jericho podcast his favorite Van Halen songs to play, and revealed that the one that stands out to him wasn’t one of their bigger hits. “We played so many of the classic all the time that really we were so excited by the B-sides,” explained Wolfgang. “So playing things like ‘Dirty Movies’ and ‘Drop Dead Legs’ and ‘How to Love Again,’ but I think the most fun song to play was probably ‘China Town.’ Dad and I had a lot of fun playing that all the time. We didn’t even care if people liked that song, we just put that in the setlist because it was so fun to play.”
Photos of Eddie Van Halen Through the Years
The iconic guitarist was born on Jan. 26, 1955.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner, Loudwire
