Wolfgang Van Halen said he was invited to play ‘Eruption’ at this year’s Grammy

Eddie Van Halenhis son confirmed that he was invited to pay musical tribute to his father at this year’s party Grammy Award but that he refused.

The legendary VAN HALEN axman was included in the “In Memoriam” segment on Sunday night at the 63rd annual edition Grammy Award, Where The Recording Academy paid tribute to the musicians who died last year. At one point in the segment, Eddie Van HalenThe name shone on the screen over a 20-second file clip of the virtuoso playing live “Eruption” solo while a spotlight illuminated his iconic Frankenstrat.

Shortly after the section aired, several fellow musicians exploded The Recording Academy for his moderate treatment of Van Halen, with the previous VAN HALEN singer Gary Cherone tweeting: “Perhaps an Artist who reimagined the way an instrument is played, which continues to influence generations of musicians and literally changed the course of rock ‘n’ roll deserves more than fifteen seconds in Grammys? “

Earlier today, Wolfgang Van Halen, which replaced Michael Anthony how VAN HALENThe bassist of in 2007, issued a statement criticizing the way his father was honored at the event and explaining why he decided not to participate in the tribute. He wrote: “The Grammys asked me to play ‘Eruption’ to the ‘In Memoriam’ section and I declined. I don’t think anyone could live up to what my dad did for music, except himself.

“I understood that there would be an ‘In Memoriam’ section where pieces of music would be played for legendary artists who had already passed away. I didn’t realize that they were going to show Pop for just 15 seconds in the middle of 4 complete performances by others we missed.

“What hurt most was that he wasn’t even mentioned when they talked about the artists we missed at the beginning of the show. I know that rock isn’t the most popular genre at the moment, (and the academy seems a little out of touch), but I think it is impossible to ignore the legacy that my father left on the instrument, the world of rock and music in general. There will never be another innovator like him.

“I’m not trying to start some kind of hate parade here, I just wanted to explain my side. I know Pop would probably laugh and say ‘Hey who cares?’ He was just about the music anyway, the rest didn’t matter.

“I would love to have the opportunity to speak to The Recording Academy not only about my father’s legacy, but the legacy of the Rock genre going forward.

“Thanks.”

The Recording Academy it is regularly criticized for not including musicians who died last year, largely due to broadcast time limitations. More than 800 names were considered for inclusion this year, according to Variety. On your website, The Recording Academy included all of these names in a more comprehensive list, noting that the televised segment “In Memoriam” aims to highlight only a few of the artists who died this year, not necessarily all.

Eddie passed away in October at the age of 65.

VAN HALEN was introduced in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone classified magazine Eddie Van Halen No. 8 on his list of the top 100 guitarists.