Eddie Van Halen died of throat cancer two years ago. Red Hot Chili Peppers are now paying tribute to the musician with the soulful new single “Eddie”. The song will appear on their upcoming album RETURN OF THE DREAM CANTEEN.
The band began writing “Eddie” the day after Van Halen’s death. The song is the second harbinger of the new record after “Tippa My Tongue”. “Sometimes it’s not until the day they die that we realize how deeply we connect with artists. Eddie Van Halen was a unique artist,” said singer Anthony Kiedis.
“Eddie lived his wildest dream”
He also shared the story behind the tribute: “The day after his death, Flea came into rehearsal with an emotional bassline. John, Chad and I started playing along, and soon a full-hearted song in his honor was born that unfolded effortlessly. It felt good to be sad and to care so much for someone who had given so much to our lives.”
Regarding the meaning of “Eddie,” he continued, “Although the song doesn’t address Eddie by name, it’s about his early days on the Sunset Strip and the rock ‘n’ roll carpet that Van Halen painted in our minds. At the end, our song asks to remember Eddie not because he died, but because he lived his wildest dream.”
RETURN OF THE DREAM CANTEEN
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ upcoming album RETURN OF THE DREAM CANTEEN is about the band’s process of self-discovery: “We went in search of ourselves as the band that we kind of always were. Just for fun we jammed and learned some old songs. It didn’t take long and we began the mysterious process of writing new songs. A nice bit of chemistry that we’ve encountered hundreds of times along the way,” the band said in a statement. The work will be released on October 14th, just a few months after the current album UNLIMITED LOVE.
Listen to the new single “Eddie” here: