Wolfgang Van Halen wrote a song in memory of dad Eddie Van Halen
(CNN) — Wolfgang Van Halen is remembering his father, the late rocker Eddie Van Halen.
In an interview with Howard Stern, his first since the death of his father last month, Wolfgang Van Halen spoke about their life together and debuted a new tribute song, “Distance,” which brought Stern’s co-host Robin Quivers to tears.
Van Halen, known as “Wolfie,” cleared up rumors he was taking his father’s place as the band’s guitarist.
“You can’t have Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen. I’m not my dad. I’m not going to replace him,” he said. “I’ve spent my life making sure I’m not like him and I’m my own person.”
He added that outside of a possible tribute show in the future and archival releases farther down the line, Van Halen is done.
“I don’t have a dad anymore and I’m coming to terms with that,” he continued. “So, I think fans can come to the terms with the fact that we’re not going to have Van Halen anymore. The music is going to live on forever, but you can’t continue without Eddie Van Halen.”
On coping with his loss, he told Stern: “I’m awful. It’s terrible. Every day, man. Some days are better than others. The pain is still there always, but you just kind of figure out how to carry it a little better as time goes on. But it’s always gonna hurt.”
He added, “That’s the gift and the curse of it. We had such a close connection and now, for the rest of my life, there’s no way I’ll never be able to think about him no matter what I do — which is good but also hurts a lot.”