Edward Lodewijk Van Halen Jan. 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020

Goodnight, Sweet Prince.

This is the end, my beautiful friend.

Edward Lodewijk van Halen was born Jan. 26, 1955, in Amsterdam.

Eddie Van Halen, one of the greatest guitar players of all time and a founding member of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted hard rock band Van Halen, has died at age 65 of throat cancer, disease he had battled off and on since 2000. The news was confirmed Tuesday afternoon by his son, current Van Halen bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, via social media.

“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,” Wolfgang posted. “He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I share 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. I love you so much, Pop.”

pic.twitter.com/kQqDV7pulR— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) October 6, 2020

 According to TMZ, who first broke the news, the legendary guitarist’s condition suddenly and drastically worsened during the past 72 hours, with doctors discovering that his throat cancer had spread to his brain and other organs. TMZ reports that Eddie died at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., with Wolfgang; his wife of 11 years, Janie; and his brother and bandmate, drummer Alex Van Halen, by his side. 

Edward Lodewijk van Halen was born Jan. 26, 1955, in Amsterdam, and moved to America with his family in 1962, settling in Pasadena, Calif., where both he and his brother began studying piano. Though he never fully learned to read music, Eddie won several piano competitions as a child, with judges noting his unusual knack for interpreting classical pieces. In 1964, Eddie switched to guitar while Alex bought a drum kit, forming their first band, the Broken Combs at Hamilton Elementary School when Eddie was in only the 4th grade.

In 1972, the Van Halen brothers formed their eponymous (originally called Genesis), solidifying the lineup with bassist/backup vocalist Michael Anthony and charismatic frontman David Lee Roth by 1974. By the mid-‘70s, the band had graduated from the local backyard-party circuit to being a fixture of the L.A. rock scene, playing clubs like the Whisky a Go Go. In 1976, after seeing them play at another Sunset Strip club, the now-defunct Gazzarri’s, KISS’s Gene Simmons approached them and offered to produce their demo tape. According to the Los Angeles Times, Simmons took that demo to KISS’s management, but was told that “they had no chance of making it.” However, a year later the group signed to Warner Bros. Records after that label’s Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman were blown away by their performance at another famous Hollywood club, the Starwood.

Upon the 1978 release of Van Halen’s self-titled album — considered one of the greatest debuts in rock history— Eddie was immediately revered as a guitar god, notably due to that album’s   instrumental track “Eruption” (voted No. 2 in Guitar World‘s reader’s poll of “100 Greatest Guitar Solos”), which showcased his signature finger-tapping technique using both left and right hands on the guitar neck. Eddie went on to be considered one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, perhaps second only to Jimi Hendrix.

Greater Van Halen success followed, and by the 1980s, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of all time, charting 13 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart; ranking 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States, with 56 million in album sales; and selling more than 80 million albums worldwide over the course of their career. After Roth’s departure, the band enjoyed an equally successful second career act in the later ‘80s and well into the ‘90s with replacement frontman Sammy Hagar, winning their only Grammy in 1992 for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal for For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. The innovative video for one of that album’s tracks, “Right Now,”  also won three awards at the MTV Video Music Awards that year, including Video of the Year.

In addition to his acclaimed guitar work with his own band, Eddie Van Halen was an in-demand player among his peers, collaborating with Roger Waters, members of Black Sabbath, Queen’s Brian May, and Toto’s Steve Lukather and appearing on films scores like The Wild Life and Twister. His most famous outside assignment was an uncredited but instantly recognizable solo on Michael Jackson’s Thriller hit “Beat It”; at one time, Van Halen final album before Roth’s departure, 1984, was at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart, right behind Thriller.

During his life, Eddie struggled with various health issues, including alcoholism and drug abuse, though he entered rehab in 2007 and had been sober since 2008. He underwent hip-replacement surgery in 1999 and an emergency operation for diverticulitis in 2012. He had one-third of his tongue removed in the early 2000s as part of his cancer treatment, and was declared cancer-free in 2002, but in 2019, it was revealed that he had been secretly battling throat cancer again for the past five years..

Eddie Van Halen is survived by his second wife, Janie; Wolfgang, his son with his first wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli; and his brother Alex.