The heartbreaking final words of Eddie Van Halen
The death of Eddie Van Halen in October 2020 caught most people off guard. He had publicly struggled with cancer for a number of years, but by all accounts, he looked relatively healthy in the years leading up to his passing. His death represented more than just the loss of an icon: it meant that one of rock music’s greatest bands, Van Halen, would never again record or perform.
Born in the Netherlands and raised in California, Van Halen co-founded the band that bore his name in 1972 alongside his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen. The band’s debut album, released five years later in 1978, immediately distinguished itself with Eddie’s searing guitar work, particularly on ‘Eruption’, a track that showcased his revolutionary two-handed tapping technique. This approach not only redefined what the electric guitar could do but also inspired a generation of musicians to explore the instrument’s untapped potential.
Throughout the late 1970s and ’80s, Van Halen’s influence grew at an uncontrollable rate. The band’s album 1984 propelled them to mainstream success, with hits like ‘Jump’, ‘Panama’. and ‘Hot for Teacher’ becoming rock radio staples. Eddie’s blistering solos and infectious riffs turned him into a guitar god, cementing his place among the legends of rock.
With a legacy like no other, Van Halen’s later years were marked by health struggles. Despite this, he continued to tour and record, his passion for music undiminished. His final years saw him reunited with original frontman David Lee Roth, offering fans a nostalgic glimpse of the band’s golden era—the end was nigh.
Even though they had divorced a number of years before his death, Van Halen’s ex-wife, Valerie Bertinelli, continued to have a close relationship with Eddie. It was with Bertinelli and their son, Wolfgang, that Van Halen expressed his succinct and powerful final words after he passed away.
“‘I love you’ are the last words Ed says to Wolfie and me,” Bertinelli wrote in her memoir Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today, “And they are the last words we say to him before he stops breathing.”
Bertinelli added: “I can’t explain the feelings Ed and I had for each other. Who really knows had he not died. I doubt it. I loved him more than I know how to explain and there’s nothing sexual about it. It was more than that. And Ed and I understood that.”
According to Bertinelli, the bond between her and Van Halen didn’t diminish when they divorced in 2007, and it largely had to do with their shared love of Wolfgang. “There is no greater love than what we had between the two of us and with that, we made this beautiful son.” Wolfgang, who was by his side during his final days, has also spoken about the deep bond they shared and the profound impact his father had on his life, but specific details like his final words have remained private.
In the memoir, Bertinelli explains that it was ultimately Van Halen’s drug addiction and inability to remain clean that caused them to break apart. Even through the strain, Bertinelli never lost her love for Van Halen. “I hated the drugs and the alcohol but I never hated him. I saw his pain”.
In a world where music often feels increasingly digital and dispassionate, Van Halen’s legacy serves as a testament to the power of raw, unfiltered talent—a beacon of a bygone era that will continue to inspire long into the future.
