The rock icon had been battling cancer since 2000.
Legendary guitarist and co-founding member of Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen has died at the age of 65. His son Wolfgang Van Halen confirmed the news in an official statement on Twitter.
“I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” reads the statement.
“Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss,” it continues.
Van Halen was diagnosed with tongue cancer in early 2000 and had a third of his tongue removed before being declared cancer-free in 2002. However, the cancer eventually returned and spread to his throat.
He recorded 12 studio albums with Van Halen across the band’s fifty-year career, selling millions of copies worldwide and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
Eddie Van Halen, who originally had no interested in playing the guitar but took it up because his brother and Van Halen bandmate told him to, went on to become one of the top 20 best-selling artists of all time and landed eighth place in Rolling Stone‘s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time.
Countless musicians who knew, loved and admired Eddie have paid tribute to him on Twitter, remembering him as a “virtuoso” and a “genuinely beautiful soul”.
— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) October 6, 2020
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