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Old rocker Eddie Van Halen died. The 65-year-old guitarist died after a 10-year battle with throat cancer.
Guitarist Eddie Van Halen dies at 65.
Photo: Daniel Knighton (Getty Images)
The world of music mourns the loss of a legendary guitarist. Eddie Van Halen had lost his “long and hard fight” with cancer, his son Wolfgang announced on Twitter Tuesday. The musician only celebrated his 65th birthday in January. 20 years ago, the guitar legend, who lives in California, had to undergo treatment for cancer. He had been smoking for a long time.
Industry magazine “Billboard” once celebrated him as the “last guitar boss.” Van Halen claims not to have listened to music. The world famous musician doesn’t even turn on the radio in the car. “I prefer the sound of the engine,” he told the magazine. «I don’t listen to any music. It’s kind of weird, but it’s been like that all my life. I couldn’t make a contemporary album if I wanted to, because I don’t know what contemporary music sounds like. “
Nonetheless, Van Halen delighted millions of fans around the world with his music for decades. “Jump” became a hit on the international charts in 1984 and remained an all-time party classic. “Right Now” and “Why Can’t This Be Love” were other hits. His playing style has shaped an entire generation of rock guitarists.
I never wanted to be a rock star
Hard rock band Van Halen was a family business: Eddie played guitar, his brother Alex played drums, and Eddie’s son Wolfgang joined them as bassist. Most people wanted to go to Hollywood and become rock stars there, Eddie Van Halen once told Esquire magazine in one of his rare interviews. But they would never have followed this thought in the Van Halen family.
The close family ties were perhaps also the reason that things didn’t always go well with the band’s changing outside singers. Founding singer David Lee Roth was replaced multiple times and officially rejoined after some time off. Both parties openly admitted that working together was not always easy.
“I can’t imagine anyone who has had more luck in their life than me.”
The Van Halen brothers were born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and migrated to Southern California with their parents as children. They started playing guitar and drums at a young age, won music competitions, and eventually founded the Van Halen band while still in school.
“I can’t imagine anyone who has had more luck in their life than me,” says Eddie Van Halen. “I’ve been through a lot of nonsense in my life, but I’ve been in the band with my brother from the beginning and now with my son as well. I don’t think anyone else in the music world can say that about themselves. I don’t know anyone who makes music with his son and his brother. “
The excesses left their mark
The band remained successful for decades, but his private life suffered from addiction problems, to which the musician openly confessed. His marriage to actress Valerie Bertinelli broke up in 2007. Two years later he married Janie Liszewski, the former spokesperson for the band.
“He was the best father I could have asked for.”
His long-standing addiction to alcohol and drugs and other excesses left their mark. In 1999 she had a new hip and a year later she developed tongue cancer. The cancer came back later, this time in the larynx.
“He was the best father I could wish for,” wrote his son Wolfgang (29) on Twitter. “Every moment I spent 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. I love you so much dad “.
