Wolfgang Van Halen has reflected on the first time his late father, Eddie Van Halen, heard his debut single ‘Distance.’
‘Distance’, was written for Eddie amid his cancer battle. As Wolfgang explains, it was his way of “imagining what my life would be without him and how terribly I’d miss him.” He unveiled the track under the moniker Mammoth WVH, last November.
In an interview with HardDrive Radio on January 5th, Wolfgang delved into the reaction of his family and friends upon first hearing the track.
“It moved everyone I showed it to,” he shared. Wolfgang went on to detail that Eddie Van Halen was so profoundly touched by the track that he shed a tear.
“I remember when I showed it to dad for the first time, maybe it was out of pride or also just the song in general, he cried when he heard it,” he recalled. “I don’t think he was aware of the significance of it for me; he just understood it as a song about loss.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Wolfgang detailed his forthcoming debut solo album, acknowledging that it was Eddies “unwavering support” that kept him inspired to keep working on it.
“His pride is what keeps me going to this day,” he explained. “In a way, it’s almost like I don’t care what anybody else says about me because my dad believe in me more than any other.”
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Check out ‘Distance’ by Wolfgang Van Halen:
Last month, Wolfgang quashed all hopes of unreleased Van Halen material seeing the light of day, for the time being at least.
“That’s not gonna happen for a long time,” he told The Oakland Press. “I have no idea what’s in there that would be worth releasing. To a certain extent, my dad released all the good stuff.”
He continued, “I think when a very important musician passes, you usually see right away the compilations of unreleased music that maybe should have stayed unreleased, and it just seems like a cash grab to take hold of the moment,” he explained.
