The Red Hot Chili Peppers, after hearing a bass line that Flea played, decided to craft a tribute song to late Eddie Van Halen called, appropriately, “Eddie.” The new song also serves as a single from the band’s upcoming album Return Of The Dream Canteen, which drops in October and will be their second album of the year following Unlimited Love.
Instead of lyrically being a blatant description of Eddie’s life, lead singer Anthony Kiedis opted to sing about Eddie’s memories and life on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip during the ’80s. He sings, “Granny would take a trip, I’ve been bending the strings / Got hammers in both my hands, such a delicate touch / They say I’m from Amsterdam, does that make me Dutch?”
Kiedis also shared an emotional Instagram statement about the song through the official RHCP account. “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,” Kiedis continued. “The day after his death, Flea came into rehearsal with an emotional bass line. John [Frusciante], Chad [Smith], 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.”
Listen to “Eddie” above.
Return Of The Dream Canteen is out 10/14 via Warner Records. Pre-save it here.
Red Hot Chili Peppers is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.