Via Loudwire, the tribute for Eddie Van Halen at last week’s Grammy ceremony did not sit well with fans of the artists esteemed legacy, a feeling shared with his son, Wolfgang.
While the traditional “In Memorium” segment of the Grammy show did include a snippet of Eddie playing “Eruption,” other late, great artists like Little Richard and Kenny Rogers had an improved sense of fanfare around their remembrance. Bruno Mars musically saluted Little Richard, Lionel Richie paid tribute to Kenny Rogers, Brandi Charlie sang John Prine, but there was no one that performed live in honor of perhaps rock n rolls biggest loss of the year, Eddie Van Halen. His name was not even mentioned in the opening monologue while other were.
While many disappointed fans took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the handling of the fallen guitar hero, Eddie’s own song Wolfgang used Twitter to reveal not only his own displeasure with the award ceremony, but to also illuminate some of the original plans for his father’s memorial in the show.
His statement reads, “The Grammys asked me to play ‘Eruption’ for the In Memoriam section and I declined. I don’t think anyone could have lived up to what my father did for music but himself. It was my understanding that there would be an In Memoriam section where bits of songs were performed for legendary artists that had passed. I didn’t realize that they would only show Pop for 15 seconds in the middle of 4 full performances for others we had lost.”
The post continued, “What hurt the most was that he wasn’t even mentioned when they talked about artists we lost in the beginning of the show. I know rock isn’t the most popular genre right now, (and the academy does seem a bit out of touch) but I think it’s impossible to ignore the legacy my father left on the instrument, the world of rock, and music in general. There will never be another innovator like him. I’m not looking to start some kind of hate parade here, I just wanted to explain my side. I know Pop would probably just laugh it off and say, ‘Ehh who gives a shit?’ He was only about the music anyway. The rest didn’t matter. I’d love to get the opportunity to speak with the Recording Academy not only about the legacy of my father, but the legacy of the Rock genre moving forward. Thank you.”
Wolfgang toured with Van Halen extensively, filling in the gap left by former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony. He wrote with his father for Van Halen’s last studio release A Different Kind of Truth in 2012. He was attached with heavy metal band Tremonti from 2012 to 2016, being the featured bass player on two of their albums, 2015’s Cauterize and 2016’s Dust. Today, he is fronting his own group, Mammoth WVH, and is planning on releasing the groups self-titled debut in June.
Leave a Comment