Wolfgang Van Halen is opening up about the devastating loss of his father Eddie Van Halen who died last month.
Wolfgang, 29, called the legendary rocker his ‘best friend in many ways’ as he talked to Carson Daly on Tuesday’s episode of TODAY.
Daly asked the musician about the ‘raw’ lyrics on his new track Distance, which is a tribute to his late father.
Tribute: Wolfgang Van Halen, 29, called his late father Eddie Van Halen his ‘best friend in many ways’ in a new interview on Tuesday
Huge loss: The legendary Van Halen guitarist died, age 65, on October 6 following a decade-long battle with cancer that spread to his lungs and brain
Wolfgang said of the song: ‘It’s tough. A lot of crying. While he was this icon to so many people, he was still my dad. He was incredibly loving and he was my best friend in many ways.’
Wolf released his gut-wrenching tribute to the Amsterdam-born, Pasadena-raised rocker through his new band, Mammoth WVH, on Monday.
A portion of the proceeds will go to Eddie’s favorite charity Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, which provides musical instruments to underfunded schools.
The accompanying Distance music video features home movies from Van Halen’s 20-year marriage to Wolf’s mother Valerie Bertinelli, which amicably ended in 2007.
Wolf defended the use of the intimate home footage.
Catch up: Wolfgang spoke to Carson Daly with TODAY about how he’s been coping with the loss of his father
‘It’s tough. A lot of crying. While he was this icon to so many people, he was still my dad. He was incredibly loving and he was my best friend in many ways.’ Wolf said
‘And I know the first reaction people will have is, wow, this is a little soon. I think when people realize that this is just an honest tribute to my father, any money that I would have made is going to my dad’s favorite charity, Mr. Holland’s Opus, that makes sure underprivileged students can get instruments and play music.’
The Santa Monica-born artist revealed his girlfriend Andrea has been great support during this tough time, as has his mother Valerie.
‘Some days it’s just really hard to get out of bed.’ he added.
‘It doesn’t seem like the pain is ever really going to go away. You just figure out how to carry it better.’
It comes after Wolfgang revealed US doctors only gave his father Eddie Van Halen ‘six weeks’ to live after he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer back in 2017.
‘And then he went to Germany. Whatever the f*** they do over there, it’s amazing because I got three more years with him,’ the 29-year-old musician marveled on Monday’s episode of The Howard Stern Show.
‘I was with him every step of the way. Every second.’
Written for him: Daly asked the musician about the ‘raw’ lyrics on his new track Distance, which is a tribute to his late father
Fighter: Wolfgang revealed US doctors only gave his father Eddie Van Halen (R) ‘six weeks’ to live after he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer back in 2017
The musician said on Monday’s episode of The Howard Stern Show that German doctors gave him three more years with his father
The legendary Van Halen guitarist died, age 65, on October 6 following a decade-long battle with cancer that spread to his lungs and brain.
‘I’m awful. It’s terrible. Every day, man. Some days are better than others,’ Van Halen admitted.
‘The pain is still there always, but you just kind of figure out how to carry it a little better as time goes on. But it’s always gonna hurt.’
The former Van Halen bassist added: ‘We had such a close connection and now, for the rest of my life, there’s no way I’ll never be able to think about him no matter what I do – which is good but also hurts a lot.’
RIP: It was Wolf who first announced the legendary Van Halen guitarist died, age 65, on October 6 following a decade-long battle with cancer that spread to his lungs and brain
Van Halen admitted: ‘I’m awful. It’s terrible. Every day, man. Some days are better than others’
The former Van Halen bassist added: ‘We had such a close connection and now, for the rest of my life, there’s no way I’ll never be able to think about him no matter what I do – which is good but also hurts a lot’ (pictured in 2015)
And while Wolf teased the possible release of unreleased music by his father, he told fans not to expect anything in the future for Van Halen aside from a tribute concert.
‘[There’s] a s*** ton of tapes that will take a very, very long time to go through,’ Van Halen explained.
‘We want to do it right, whenever the time is, but it would be a little shameless to do it right now. It would be milking dad.’
The LA native continued: ‘I don’t have a dad anymore and I’m coming to terms with that. So, I think fans can come to the terms with the fact that we’re not going to have Van Halen anymore. The music is going to live on forever but you can’t continue without Eddie Van Halen.’
The accompanying Distance music video features home movies from Van Halen’s 20-year marriage to Wolf’s mother Valerie Bertinelli, which amicably ended in 2007