Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, says he turned down an offer of ‘Eruption’ in honor of his father during this year’s Grammys. revealed on Twitter Monday. “I think no one would be able to conform to what my father did for music except for himself,” Wolfgang wrote, explaining that he was then surprised to see the tribute become a short performance of his guitar. “I did not realize that they would only show Pop for 15 seconds in the middle of four full performances for others we lost.”
‘What hurt the most,’ Wolfgang continued, ‘was that he was not even mentioned when they talked about artists we lost at the beginning of the program. I know rock is not the most popular genre right now (and academia seems a bit out of touch), but I think it’s impossible to ignore my dad’s legacy, the world of rock and music in general. There will never be an innovator like him again. ”
Wolfgang admitted that his father, who died last year after a long battle with cancer, would not mind. “I know Pop would probably just laugh it off and say, ‘Eh, who’s giving a shit? “He was just about the music anyway. The rest did not matter. “But he offered to speak to the Recording Academy” not only about my father’s legacy, but also about the legacy of the rock genre moving forward. ” (A spokesman for the Recording Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Wolfgang, who toured and recorded with Van Halen on bass, will release his self-titled debut album on June 11 as Mammoth WVH (in which he sings and plays all the instruments).