"I miss hearing you laugh. I miss laughing with you": Wolfgang Van Halen shares poignant birthday message to his late father Eddie, on what would have been the guitar legend's 69th birthday

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By ( Classic Rock ) published

"I'll do my best to keep a smile on my face and think of you today"

Van Halen
(Image credit: Mammoth WVH)

Wolfgang Van Halen has shared a sweet and poignant tribute to his late father Eddie Van Halen, on what would have been the Dutch-born guitar legend's 69th birthday.

Posting on X, the Mammoth WVH man writes, "I wish you were here so I could give you a big hug, go to dinner, celebrate it with you and make a dumb joke about it being your 69th birthday. Just regular shit. I miss hearing you laugh. I miss laughing with you. It's the little things.

"I'll do my best to keep a smile on my face and think of you today. But then again, that's not very different than any other day so far without you.

"I love and miss you more than you could ever possibly know.

"Happy Birthday, Pop ❤️".

Eddie Van Halen passed away on October 6, 2020, after a long battle with cancer. The guitarist's life and legacy was saluted by scores of his peers.

"Eddie was one of a very special kind of person, a really great friend," said Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, while Metallica stated "We considered him an inspiration, an idol, and after spending a summer together on the road in '88, a friend." Recalling seeing Van Halen play live for the first time while playing in support to Black Sabbath, Eddie's long-time friend Brian May from Queen said, "my jaw just dropped. Watching Ed was like watching Jimi Hendrix for the first time. I was awestruck."

AC/DC's own guitar hero, Angus Young, wrote, "Eddie was a guitar wonder, his playing pure wizardry. To the world of music he was a special  gift. To those of us fortunate enough to have met him, a special person. He lives a big hole in a lot of hearts." 

Paul Brannigan
Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.