Wolfgang Van Halen remembers his late father in a new solo song called 'Distance' which is coming out more than a month after the Van Halen rocker passed away.
- November 15, 2020
AceShowbiz - Wolfgang Van Halen is dedicating his debut solo single to his late father, Eddie Van Halen.
The guitar great lost his battle with cancer on 6 October (20), aged 65 and, in a statement announcing new track "Distance", he revealed the tune is dedicated to the rocker.
"'Distance' is a song that was initially written for the debut album, but was going to be held for a later time," he said. "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 this song is incredibly personal, I think anyone can relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their own life," concluded the Van Halen bassist, adding that he "never anticipated 'Distance' would be the first song of mine that people would hear, but I also thought my father would be here to celebrate its release along with me."
Wolfgang has been working on a solo album for the past five years and, in 2018, producer Michael 'Elvis' Baskette revealed they'd completed the project. A release had been set for this year but, amid the pandemic, it has yet to materialise.
"I'm working on it! The state of the world has really thrown a wrench into how I saw this releasing (given that no touring is able to happen until this all blows over), but I have a few ideas that I'm really excited about, so stay tuned!" he tweeted in July, responding to a fan question.
Back in 2015, Eddie enthused that his son's album sounds "like AC/DC meets Van Halen meets aggressive pop," adding, "The riffs are catchy. It's a little of everything and sounds like a freight train coming at you. I've never heard anything quite like it. It's so powerful that I'm jealous."
