Six years after the death of guitarist Eddie Van Halen, his brother Alex Van Halen, his son Wolfgang Van Halen and his widow Janie Van Halen each shared emotional tributes to him on Instagram.
Alex Van Halen’s tribute focused on grief and lasting love. He drew on a verse that described the pain of losing someone close.
“A million times I’ve needed you, a million times I’ve cried… If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died,” Alex Van Halen said.
“In life, I loved you dearly, in death I love you still. In my heart you hold a place, no one else can ever fill. It broke my heart to lose you, but you didn’t go alone, part of me went with you, the day that God took you home.”
Wolfgang Van Halen also marked the anniversary with a separate message of his own.
“6 years. It doesn’t get any easier. Love and miss you more than you could ever know, Pop,” Wolfgang Van Halen wrote.
Janie Van Halen shared a brief message in her own post.
“So it begins and until the end…” Janie Van Halen wrote.
The tributes came on the sixth anniversary of Eddie Van Halen’s death. The date brought back the memory of a loss that has shaped the lives of the Van Halen family and the many fans of the band. Further updates may follow.
Eddie Van Halen died on October 6, 2020, at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential guitarists in rock history.
Alex Van Halen has spoken openly about how deeply the loss affected him. In 2024, he released the memoir Brothers, which he described as a love letter to his younger brother. The book looks back on their childhood, their partnership and the story of the band they built together.
The two brothers were only 20 months apart in age. Alex Van Halen has described their bond as a close one.
“A yin and yang… the two halves of a whole,” Alex Van Halen said of their relationship.
Wolfgang Van Halen has also honored his father through music. His band Mammoth WVH performed the song “Distance,” a tribute written while Eddie was fighting cancer. It reflects on the void his father’s absence would leave.
Van Halen was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. The milestone underscored the band’s lasting legacy.
