Former bandmate David Lee Roth said in a recurring interview that Eddie Van Halen and his family faced growing racism because of their mixed-race background.
The acclaimed Van Halen guitarist died last week at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer. The legendary rocker was born to mother Eugenia, who was born in Indonesia, and father Jan, who was born in the Netherlands.
Speaking on the “WTF with Mark Maron” podcast in 2019, Roth discusses how she survived racism with her former bandmate and how she and her brother, Alex, grew up in the Netherlands with “half the race”.
“It simply came to our notice then. That homeboy grew up in a horrible racist environment where he really had to leave the country, ”Roth explained at the time.
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“They came to America and didn’t speak English as a first language in the early ’90s.” So that’s the kind of spark, that’s the kind of stuff that runs. ”
Van Helen’s guitarist Eddie Van Helen performs on stage at the Sleep Train Amphitheater in Chula Vista, Calif., On September 30, 2015.
(Daniel Knighton / Getty Images)
As people note, Eddie Van Halen himself discussed racism, and he and his mother were interviewed in the U.S. during a 301st interview for the title “Isn’t a Roll All About a Reinvention” in which he met Dennis Kwan. Talked about life.
“We already passed in Holland, you know, first day, first grade. Now, you’re in another whole country where you can’t speak the language, and you don’t know anything about anything and that was a terrible thing, “he said.” I don’t even know how to explain, but I think it made us stronger because you had to be. “
He noted that most of the vitriols that come with their race come from white children. In fact, he said that seeing more acquaintance with black students in his school made him feel like he was also a minority.
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“They were really white people who were bullish,” he said in an interview. “They stripped me of my homework and papers, fed me playground sand, and those black kids stopped for me.”
Van Helen’s Eddie Van Helen performing at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, NJ on April 1984.
(Abbott Roberts / RedFerence)
Luckily for rock history, the Van Halen brothers met the legendary rock group, which is still considered the most famous in the rock genre. With his solo solo, Eddie Van Helen was the engine behind the Final California Party band and helped knock the disc out of Charco, beginning with the band’s self-titled debut album in the late 1970s and later with the blockbuster record “1984”. Classic “Jump,” “Panama” and “Hot for the Teacher.”
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Van Halen is one of the top 20 best-selling artists of all time, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Eddie Van Helen 8th on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists. .
