Alex Van Halen Still Furious That Eddie Worked With Michael Jackson

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Four decades after Eddie Van Halen worked with Michael Jackson, brother Alex Van Halen is still disappointed.

“Why would you lend your talents to Michael Jackson? I just don’t f—ing get it,” Alex, 71, told Rolling Stone in an interview published on Tuesday, October 15. “And the funny part was that Ed fibbed his way out of it by saying, ‘Oh, who knows that kid anyway?’ You made the mistake! Fess up. Don’t add insult to injury by acting stupid.”

Eddie agreed to perform a guitar solo on Jackson’s “Beat It” in 1982, which Alex claimed led to their band’s demise. At the time, Alex said he told Eddie not to pursue the opportunity and would have preferred Jackson make a guest appearance on a Van Halen album. Eddie ignored his brother’s wishes and went forward with the collaboration.

Flash forward two years later and Jackson’s Thriller topped the charts — and beat out Van Halen’s 1984.

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Alex and Eddie founded Van Halen in 1972 alongside David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony. As tensions grew between Alex and Eddie, Roth left the rock band in 1985 to pursue a solo career. (He was replaced by Sammy Hager.) In 2007, Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

While recalling his furiousness with his brother, Alex also reflected on Eddie’s death at age 65. “I just miss him,” he told the outlet. “I miss the arguments. I live with it every day. And I can’t bring him back. I can’t make things right.”

News broke in 2020 that Eddie died after a battle with throat cancer. (Eddie’s throat cancer diagnosis was revealed in 2019, nearly two decades after he had part of his tongue removed from complications with tongue cancer.)

His son, Wolfgang, confirmed his father’s death via Twitter at the time. (Eddie shared Wolfgang with Valerie Bertinelli, with whom he was married from 1981 until they called it quits in 2001. The former couple’s divorce was finalized in 2007.)

“I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” the statement read. “He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.”

Wolfgang concluded, “I love you so much, Pop.”