It might be tempting to call Wolfgang Van Halen a "nepo baby," but he didn't get to where he is just because of his famous name — and his path has been filled with heartbreak.
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00:00It might be tempting to call Wolfgang Van Halen a nepo-baby, but he didn't get to where
00:04he is just because of his famous name, and his path has been filled with heartbreak.
00:09The 20th century rock and roll lifestyle was anything but conducive to raising a family.
00:13Nevertheless, in 1981, at the height of his career, hard-partying Eddie Van Halen tied
00:18the knot with actress Valerie Bertonelli.
00:20People think that someone in my business or whatever wouldn't want to settle down and
00:25have a wife, you know, and have kids.
00:27I'd love to have kids."
00:29A decade later, the couple welcomed their only child, Wolfgang, into the world.
00:33But the couple split in 2002 when Wolfgang was just 11, as a result of Eddie's drug use
00:37and extramarital affairs.
00:39Bertonelli later told Oprah,
00:41"...Ed and I weren't treating each other like two people that loved each other, and that's
00:44what Wolfie was seeing."
00:46The split affected young Wolfgang, but his father also struggled with the separation.
00:49We gotta clean up the garage and build a little studio for you and me."
00:53In an appearance on Behind the Music, Wolfgang claimed that his father's manner became darker
00:57after his divorce, and that the heartbreak worsened his addiction.
01:01Nevertheless, the family eventually worked it out.
01:03Eddie and Bertonelli were present at each other's second weddings, and Wolfgang and
01:07his mom remained very close.
01:09Wolfgang was still just a teenager when he joined Van Halen full-time.
01:13Despite his musical talent, the promotion to band member had to involve a steep learning
01:17curve — and not just when it came to musicianship.
01:19Being in a band with your rock star father is hard to begin with, but the teenage bassist
01:23also found himself at the center of his father's addiction to drugs and alcohol.
01:27Wolf had an influence on Ed that nobody did.
01:33It was beautiful."
01:35In an interview on the I Never Thought It Would Happen podcast, Wolfgang shared,
01:39"'Growing up witnessing and being around it, I was a bit naive to the severity of it, until
01:43I became of age to really understand around my early teens and being around his struggles
01:48when I joined Van Halen.'"
01:49In 07, it's like there was nothing there.
01:52It's like the pupils were black, and there was nothing behind it."
01:56He believes that he was his father's support system, helping Eddie overcome the pre-show
01:59anxiety that made him want to drink.
02:01"'I think me being there kept him grounded, for the most part.'"
02:07Wolfgang explained,
02:08"'Addiction is a disease, and it's a very awful one, and it really had a strong hold
02:12on him.
02:13But he got through it, and I was very proud of the way he got out of it.'"
02:16Eddie Van Halen was such a force of nature that, for his millions of fans, it seemed
02:20he might go on performing forever.
02:22But in the 2010s, Eddie's health began to fail.
02:25In 2017, he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, which was likely exacerbated by his
02:30many years of smoking.
02:31Eddie's doctors gave him six weeks to live.
02:34"'It's not easy to see someone you look up to as a pillar of strength and have to be
02:40that pillar of strength yourself.'"
02:41When he got the grim news, Eddie had been putting together a long-awaited Van Halen
02:46reunion tour, which was to include former band members Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth.
02:50Those plans had to be shelved after Eddie got sick.
02:53"'Yeah, that was real, and we were so excited about it, all of us.
02:58It just didn't pan out.'"
03:02And as for Wolfgang, he put his musical career on hold so he could take care of his dad.
03:07Although Eddie managed to live three years longer than the doctors predicted, he died
03:11on October 6, 2020, at the age of 65.
03:14Despite his grief, Wolfgang has returned to making music, telling People,
03:18"'What really helps me keep going is my dad, because if I just gave up and stopped and
03:22crawled in a hole, which I feel like doing every day, I know he'd be really pissed off
03:26at me.'"
03:27Eddie's death was met by an outpouring of grief from rock and roll fans.
03:31News outlets noted the guitarist's incredible contribution to the genre, and his place in
03:35history as one of the finest guitarists and most influential rock practitioners of all
03:40time.
03:41After news of his death broke, legends like Ozzy Osbourne, Nikki Sixx, and Kiss' Paul
03:44Stanley took to social media to pay tribute to their friend and colleague.
03:48"'You only have 12 notes, do what you want with them.'"
03:51But not everyone treated Eddie's death with the respect it deserved.
03:54In 2022, the cable network Reels announced that Eddie was to be the focus of a new episode
03:58of Autopsy the last hours of.
04:01Family members spoke out, objecting to the show as exploitative and in bad taste.
04:05Wolfgang took to X, posting,
04:07"'F----- disgusting trying to glamorize someone's death from cancer.
04:10Pathetic and heartless.'"
04:12Shortly after Eddie's death, Wolfgang released a song with his new band, Mammoth WVH, called
04:17Distance.
04:19The music video was made with home footage of Eddie during Wolfgang's early years.
04:22It was a huge hit with Van Halen fans, who were still reeling from their hero's death.
04:26It was also a successful jumping-off point for Wolfgang's music career outside of his
04:30father's shadow.
04:31Since then, Mammoth WVH has released two hit studio albums and become a popular live act
04:36among rock fans.
04:37In 2023, the band opened for Metallica.
04:40Of course, many listeners attending Mammoth WVH concerts for the first time might expect
04:44him to play the music of Van Halen.
04:46After all, he was a member of the band for 14 years.
04:49But Wolfgang says he has no interest in playing the group's songs, as his father is no longer
04:53around to play with him.
04:54Fortunately, he's got major songwriting chops of his own.
04:57He explained to Today,
04:59"...I think when it comes to paying tribute to my father, me just existing and playing
05:02music every day and writing music is a tribute enough.
05:06But it was nice to have that moment where I could play Van Halen's music."
05:08I love you, Daddy.
05:11I love you.
05:13Wolfgang points to the sky at least once during each gig as a tribute to his dad.