Wolfgang Van Halen Pays a Heartbreakingly Beautiful Tribute to His Late Father In His Debut Single ‘Distance’

Just a little over a month after the tragic death of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen, his 29 year old son Wolfgang (Wolf) released his debut single “Distance”. The song and its accompanying video pay a heartbreakingly beautiful tribute to the late greatly missed artist with deeply personal references and video of father and son lovingly interacting with one another throughout the years.

As my pop continued to struggle with various health issues, I was imagining what my life would be like without him and how terribly I’d miss him. While the song is incredibly personal, I think anyone can relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their life. I never intended ‘Distance’ to be the very first piece of music people would hear from me, but I also thought my father would be here to celebrate its release. This is for him. I love and miss you, Pop.

Like his father, Wolf Van Halen is extraordinarily musically talented and played all the instruments and sings lead on the song. Wolf told Rolling Stone that it just turned out that way.

I just wanted to see if I could do it. I knew I could play each instrument, but I was like, ‘You know what? It’s really cool to see if this could work.’ And it did.

Wolf also spoke with Howard Stern about the song, his father, and a Van Halen reunion that had been in the works before the death of Eddie Van Halen.

Wolf Van Halen speaks openly about missing his father, Eddie Van Halen, and debuts the emotional tribute song he wrote for him. …confirms the Van Halen reunion rumors were true while talking with Howard Stern.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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