Music legends pay tribute as ‘Mozart of rock guitar’ Eddie Van Halen dies from cancer aged 65: Heartbroken son Wolf says ‘every moment I shared with him was a gift’ while Gene Simmons mourns ‘not only a guitar god, but a genuinely beautiful soul’
Rock star Eddie Van Halen died at the age of 65 on Tuesday.
The guitarist and co-founder of the Eighties band Van Halen had been battling throat cancer for over a decade.
He passed away at at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California with his wife Janie, his son Wolfgang and brother and drummer Alex next to him, according to TMZ.
‘I can’t believe I’m having to write this but my father, Van Halen Edward Lodewijk , has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,’ Wolfgang said in a tweet.
He added: ‘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 will ever fully recover from this loss.’
Eddie, who never really learned to read music, had a sudden decline in health in the past 72 hours, according to TMZ.
His throat cancer had reportedly gone to his brain as well as other parts of his body, it was added.
The site said that he had been ‘in and out of the hospital over the past year.’
Van Halen is considered one of rock music’s greatest guitar players and Eddie was a founding member of the hugely successful 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 band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
The guitar virtuoso also played the unmistakable fiery solo in Michael Jackson’s hit ‘Beat It’.
Van Halen is among the top 20 best-selling artists of all time and Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen at No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.
Roth, his bandmate, tweeted: ‘What a Long Great Trip It’s Been..’
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons wrote: ‘My heart is broken. Eddie was not only a Guitar God, but a genuinely beautiful soul. Rest in peace, Eddie!’
He first saw a then-unknown Eddie play in 1976, signing his band up to produce a 15-song demo.
Simmons has previously said of their performance: ‘Even though the band was a three-piece, there was a big sound coming out of them and Eddie was tapping the neck — which I’d never seen done on guitar before — with speed and accuracy in the melody. They simply didn’t sound like anybody else. There was a kind of fury.’
Paul Stanley, also of Kiss, said: ‘Oh NO! Speechless. A trailblazer and someone who always gave everything to his music. A good soul. I remember first seeing him playing at the Starwood in 1976 and he WAS Eddie Van Halen. So shocked and sad. My condolences to Wolfie and the family.’
Aerosmith’s Instagram account posted an image of Eddie, writing: ‘Rest In Peace Eddie Van Halen. You will be missed. #Legend.’
Singer Sammy Hagar said he is ‘heartbroken and speechless’ after death of his former bandmate.