Report: Eddie Van Halen Dies At 65

Battle Eddie Van Halen, legendary guitarist and Van Halen co-founder, has died at the age of 65 after a long battle with throat cancer. The news was confirmed Tuesday by his son Wolfgang, who wrote “My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss”.

Van Halen had battled cancer for over a decade and had recently begun chemotherapy treatments.  TMZ reports that his health went “massively downhill” in the last 72 hours.

Eddie founded Van Halen in 1972 with David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, and his brother Alex Van Halen, with Wolfgang replacing Anthony in 2006.  EVH also played the guitar solo on Michael Jackson’s 1983 mega-hit “Beat It”.