Red Hot Chili Peppers Honor Eddie Van Halen With New Song 'Eddie'

Photo: Getty Images/Clara Balzary

Red Hot Chili Peppers have released another new single and this time it's a tribute to late guitarist Eddie Van Halen. The track also nods to lead singer David Lee Roth who left Van Halen back in 1985.

“It’s only 1983/ please don’t remember me,” Anthony Kiedis sings on the track. “For what I did with David/ you know I’m talking David Lee.” Kiedis reflected on the meaning of the song in a statement:

“Sometimes we don’t realize how deeply affected and connected we are to artists until the day they die,” he said. “Eddie Van Halen was a one-of-a-kind. The day after his death Flea came into rehearsal with an emotional bass line. John, Chad, and I started playing along and pretty soon with all our hearts, a song in his honor effortlessly unfolded. It felt good to be sad and care so much about a person who had given so much to our lives. Although the song doesn’t speak to Eddie by name, it talks about his early days on the Sunset Strip and the rock ‘n’ roll tapestry that Van Halen painted on our minds. In the end, our song asks that you not remember Eddie for dying but for living his wildest dream.”

"Eddie" is the follow-up to their August release "Tippa My Tongue." Shortly after, the group was awarded the Global Icon Award at the 2022 MTV VMAs. They also hit the stage for a celebratory performance in which they paid tribute to late Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

Their new album Return of the Dream Canteen drops on October 14th.


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