[Dana’s note: As you all know, our very own Eddie Trunk went off a Twitter tirade last night about the disrespectful, and pitiful manner, in which the Grammy chose to “honor” the passing of iconic guitarist Eddie Van Halen. In light of his frustration, and countless others, Van Halen’s progeny, Wolfgang, says he declined an offer to play “Eruption” as a tribute to his father during this year’s Grammy’s.
He wrote on Twitter today (March 15th) “I don’t think anyone could have lived up to what my father did for music but himself,” Wolfgang wrote, explaining that he was then surprised to see the tribute become just a brief display of his guitar. “I didn’t realize they would only show Pop for 15 seconds in the middle of four full performances for others we had lost.”
“What hurt the most,” Wolfgang continued, “was that he wasn’t even mentioned when they talked about artists we lost in the beginning of the show. I know rock isn’t the most popular genre right now (and the academy does seem a bit out of touch) but I think it’s impossible to ignore the legacy my father left on the instrument, the world of rock, and music in general. There will never be another innovator like him.”
Wolfgang acknowledged that his father, who died last year after a long battle with cancer, wouldn’t have cared about any of it. “I know Pop would probably just laugh it off and say, ‘Eh, who gives a shit?’ He was only about the music anyway. The rest didn’t matter.” But he offered to speak to the Recording Academy “not just about the legacy of my father, but the legacy of the rock genre moving forward.”
Wolfgang, who toured and recorded on bass with Van Halen,will releasing his debut solo album as Mammoth WVH (in which he sings and plays all the instruments), on June 11th. Listen to the song You’re To Blame here and his first release, a very touching tribute to his father, Distance, here.
20 Responses
Simply disgusting.
It’s like Albert Einstein not being recognized at a scientific awards ceremony.
Or Michelangelo not being recognized at art ceremony.
A 15-20 second video clip, no mention of his name, and they call that a tribute? 1 of the most iconic (if not THE most iconic) musicians in history, how much time did they spend on that basketball player last year at the Grammy MUSIC awards??
Not only are these idiots pretending that Rock and Metal music doesn’t exist anymore, they want to erase it altogether and pretend that it NEVER existed! Why? Politics…
Yes Doug R….you are unfortunately CORRECT ….this is why ROCK IS DEAD or DYING faster at best.
Not happy to say it. Mainstream dictates what music LIVES ON. They didn’t even celebrate this LEGEND past few paltry seconds. SHAMEFUL. FN SHAMEFUL.
We are the LAST of our kind so just Blast VH until your dying day and don’t hate on your music in the comment sections of these sites because you are hating the wrong genre and helping kill our music even faster.
Like the RRHOF, the Grammys are clueless, and I think no differently of them than they think about rock. So ti hell with them, and from the looks of the ratings, a lot of people are thinking the same thing.
The Grammy’s blow…sadly, we shouldn’t be surprised by their ignorance. That event was a soup sandwich from tip to tale. “F’ the Grammy’s
Wolfies FB post about this was shared on my timeline, when I read it I was stunned and not surprised at the same time, the grammys have come to represent everything that is wrong in the music Industry, eddie van halen represented pure love of the guitar, innovation, passion , he took it to the next level and beyond , the grammys disregard for his legacy and contribution to music is shameful and unforgivable, hopefully wolfie can find some peace knowing his dad inspired so many , wolfie I am so sorry for the loss of your dad ~