Wolfgang Van Halen pays tribute to his father Eddie with debut solo song, Distance

Wolfgang Van Halen has paid a moving tribute to his late father Eddie Van Halen with is debut solo single, Distance. It's the first material from his forthcoming debut album, due in 2021.

 “As my pop continued to struggle with various health issues, I was imagining what my life would be like without him and how terribly I’d miss him," reveals Wolfgang. "While the song is incredibly personal, I think anyone can relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their life.”

Wolfgang wrote the song and performed all the instrumentation and Distance is described as an "open letter" to his father Eddie Van Halen, who passed away on 6 October. Michael Elvis Baskette (Alter Bridge, Slash) produces. It's a glimpse into their close and supportive relationship. The Distance video ends with a loving voicemail left from Eddie to Wolfgang.  

Travis Shinn

(Image credit: Travis Shinn)

“I never intended ‘Distance’ to be the very first piece of music people would hear from me," adds Wolfgang. "But I also thought my father would be here to celebrate its release. This is for him. I love and miss you, Pop.” 

Wolfgang is donating his portion of all proceeds from Distance to the Mr Holland’s Opus Foundation. Eddie Van Halen was very supportive of the organisation via numerous donations throughout his lifetime. 

Rob Laing
Guitars Editor, MusicRadar

I'm the Guitars Editor for MusicRadar, handling news, reviews, features, tuition, advice for the strings side of the site and everything in between. Before MusicRadar I worked on guitar magazines for 15 years, including Editor of Total Guitar in the UK. When I'm not rejigging pedalboards I'm usually thinking about rejigging pedalboards.