LOS ANGELES: Eddie Van Halen, pioneering guitarist and co-founder of the popular rock band Van Halen, has died of cancer aged 65.
The Dutch-American musician had been undergoing treatment for throat cancer. His band, Van Halen, were best known for their song Jump, which hit the top of the US charts in 1984.a
Van Halen’s death was announced by his 29-year-old son, Wolfgang, a bass player who joined the band. His son Wolfgang paid tribute to him on social media, saying he was the best father he could ever ask for.
“I can’t believe I’m having to write this but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” Wolfgang Van Halen said on Twitter.
“Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss. I love you so much, Pop.”
It was reported the rocker died at a Los Angeles hospital with his wife, Janie, son and other family members at his side. Fans placed flowers and guitar picks on Van Halen’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“What a long, great trip its been,” the band’s frontman during its glory years, David Lee Roth said on Twitter above a black-and-white photo of the two men clenching hands backstage at a concert.
Eddie Van Halen was born in Amsterdam on January 26, 1955, and studied classical piano after moving to the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena with his family in the 1960s.
After switching to guitar, he and his older brother, Alex, who took up the drums, formed Van Halen in the mid-1970s with lead singer Roth and bassist Michael Anthony.The hard-rock band quickly became famous before releasing their eponymous debut album in 1978.
The album shot to No. 19 on the Billboard charts, becoming one of the most successful debuts of the decade Eddie Van Halen earned a place along with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page as one of rock’s most celebrated guitarists.
