More than two months after the tragic passing of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen, his cause of death and final resting place have been confirmed.
According to Van Halen’s death certificate, issued by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, and obtained by the US website TMZ, his immediate cause of death is listed as a cerebrovascular accident, or stroke.
He also had several underlying health issues, including pneumonia, the bone marrow disorder myelodysplastic syndrome, lung cancer and skin cancer.
As per his final wishes, Van Halen was cremated and his ashes given to his son Wolfgang, TMZ reports. His ashes will be scattered off the coast of Malibu, California, the city in which he lived for years.
Wolfgang, who broke the news of his father's passing on social media, has since shared a touching tribute to the legendary guitarist with the release of Distance, the emotional debut single from his new band Mammoth WVH.
“I never intended Distance to be the very first piece of music people would hear from me, but I also thought my father would be here to celebrate its release,” Wolfgang said, who sings and performs all instruments on the song.
“As my pop continued to struggle with various health issues, I was imagining what my life would be like without him and how terribly I’d miss him. While the song is incredibly personal, I think anyone can relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their life. This is for him. I love and miss you, Pop.”
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Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
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