Eddie Van Halens’ son speaks out about being ‘hurt’ with how the Grammys honored his father

Eddie Van Halalen’s son Wolfgang has a few words for how the Grammy Awards honored his late father at Sunday’s ceremony.

In an Instagram post on Monday, Van Halen pointed out that his father – the legendary rock guitarist who died in October at the age of 65 – was briefly seen during the “In Memoriam” segment of the show and was not mentioned again.

In addition to a screenshot of the segment featuring Eddie Van Halen, his son wrote: “The Grammys asked me to play ‘Eruption’ for the ‘In Memoriam’ section and I declined. I don’t think anyone else could have lived up to what my dad did for music other than himself. “

“I understood there was going to be an ‘In Memoriam’ section where bits of songs were performed for legendary artists who had passed away,” he continued. “I didn’t know they would only show Pop for 15 seconds in the middle of 4 full performances for others we’d lost.”

He said he was “ hurt the most ” by the fact that the show didn’t mention his dad “ when they talked about artists we lost at the start of the show. ”

“I know rock isn’t the most popular genre right now (and the academy seems a bit out of reach), but I think it’s impossible to ignore the legacy my father left on the instrument, the world of rock and music in general “, wrote Van Halen.” There will never be another innovator like him. “

He added that he doesn’t want to start a ‘hate parade’ because his dad ‘would probably just laugh it off and say’ Ehh, who cares? He concluded by saying that he would “ like to have the opportunity to speak to The Recording Academy not only about my father’s legacy, but also about the legacy of the rock genre moving forward. “

The Recording Academy did not immediately respond to HuffPosts’ request for comment.

Eddie Van Halen, frontman of iconic 1980s rock band Van Halen, died after cancer treatment.

Rolling Stone placed Van Halen in a competition with the greatest rock guitarists. “It’s hard to imagine what rock & roll would sound like without Eddie Van Halen,” the magazine wrote.

“Just like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton before him, he alone (or maybe, in his case, double-handedly) “- referring to a two-handed technique known as tapping -” changed the guitar’s vocabulary for a generation, “Rolling Stone said.