Tragic Details About Eddie Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen, the guitar virtuoso and eponymous co-founder of legendary rock group Van Halen, died on Oct. 6, 2020. With his passing came an outpouring of love from his family, collaborators, and fans. The rock icon was clearly beloved, but also beset with more than his share of tragedies. Eddie Van Halen wasn't even a teenager when he picked up his first drink. In an interview with Billboard, he said, "I started drinking and smoking when I was 12. I got drunk before I'd show up to high school." He was drinking so much that his ninth-grade science teacher could actually smell the alcohol on him and confronted him - but his message wasn't what you might expect. He said, "He told me, 'Don't drink anything you can't see through. [...] And I was like, 'So, vodka?' And he said 'Yeah.' Which was great, because that was my drink." The rocker wasn't reprimanded at home either. He said, "I'm not blaming my father at all, but he was an alcoholic, too. [...] So in our household, it was normal. But it never affected his work, although, I guess it didn't affect my work, either." And although he might not be to blame, Van Halen's dad certainly didn't discourage his son from relying on alcohol when things got tough. In a 2012 interview with Esquire, he said, quote, "the whole alcoholism thing" started because he was a shy kid struggling with getting up on stage to perform. He said, "I don't mean to blame my dad, but when I started playing in front of people, I'd get so damn nervous. [...] I asked him, 'Dad, how do you do it?' That's when he handed me the cigarette and the drink. And I go, 'Oh, this is good! It works!' For so long, it really did work." Watch this video to learn more tragic details about Eddie Van Halen. #EddieVanHalen #VanHalen Eddie Van Halen grew up with an alcoholic father | 0:00 Addiction controlled Van Halen's life | 1:43 Van Halen lost part of his tongue to cancer | 2:50 Did music make Van Halen sick? | 3:37 The cancer returned | 4:47 Did Van Halen suffer for years? | 5:36 His marriage was tainted by addiction | 6:28