Musicians Eddie Van Halen (R) and Wolfgang Van Halen of Van Halen perform on stage at Sleep Train Amphitheatre on September 30, 2015 in Chula Vista, California.
(Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie’s son, recently told The Oakland Press that he does not plan to release songs from his father’s vault but does plan to preserve them as digital copies.
After the tragic death of Eddie in October lots of Van Halen memorabilia has gone up for sale as his passing has increased the items value. These cash grabs are the exact reason Wolfgang said he will not be looking to publish unreleased songs by his late father.
“I think when a very important musician passes, you usually see right away the compilations of unreleased music that maybe should have stayed unreleased, and it just seems like a cash grab to take hold of the moment,” he told The Oakland Press.
In fact, the son of the legendary and beloved guitarist said it may be awhile before he even considers it, if ever.
“That’s not gonna happen for a long time. have no idea what’s in there that would be worth releasing,” said Wolfgang.
“To a certain extent, my dad released all the good stuff. Even without the intention to release, I want to archive it properly and digitize it, so everything is safe for years to come. It’s going to be an incredibly difficult process and a very long process to do properly,” he continued.