CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — Rockstar and co-founder of band Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen has died at the age of 65, after a long battle with throat cancer.

Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang made the announcement on Twitter:

“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… I love you so much, Pop.”

Eddie formed the classic rock band, Van Halen, in Pasadena, California in 1972. Van Halen is among the top 20 best-selling artists of all time, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen at No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

Eddie Van Halen was an autodidact who could play almost any instrument, but he couldn’t read music. He was a classically trained pianist who also created some of the most distinctive guitar riffs in rock history. Eddie is considered to be one of the most influential guitarists of all time and served as the primary songwriter on the band’s self-titled debut album in 1978. “Van Halen” opened with a blistering “Runnin’ With the Devil” and then Eddie Van Halen showed off his astonishing skills in the next song, “Eruption,” a furious 1:42 minute guitar solo that swoops and soars like a deranged bird. The album also contained a cover of the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love.”

Van Halen released albums on a yearly timetable — “Van Halen II” (1979), “Women and Children First” (1980), “Fair Warning” (1981) and “Diver Down” (1982) — until the monumental “1984,” which hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album charts (only behind Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”). Rolling Stone ranked “1984” No. 81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s.

Van Halen also played guitar on one of the biggest singles of the 1980s: Jackson’s “Beat It.” His solo lasted all of 20 seconds and took only a half an hour to record. He did it as a favor to producer Quincy Jones, while the rest of his Van Halen bandmates were out of town.

Van Halen’s music has appeared in films as varied as “Superbad,” “Minions” and “Sing” as well as TV shows like “Glee” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Video games such as “Gran Turismo 4” and “Guitar Hero” have used his riffs. Their song “Jamie’s Cryin” was sampled by rapper Tone Loc in his hit “Wild Thing.”

Eddie Van Halen was born in Amsterdam and his family immigrated to California in 1962 when he was 7. His father was a big band clarinetist who rarely found work after coming to the U.S., and their mother was a maid who had dreams of her sons being classical pianists. The Van Halens shared a house with three other families. Eddie and Alex had only each other, a tight relationship that flowed through their music.

The rock world reacted to the passing of Eddie Van Halen through social media.

Kiss, rock band front man, Gene Simmons, sent a tweet with his condolences.

“My heart is broken. Eddie was not only a Guitar God, but a genuinely beautiful soul.”

“You changed our world. You were the Mozart of rock guitar. Travel safe rockstar,” Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx said on Twitter.

Eddie’s ex-wife, actress Valerie Bertinelli also reacted to the news of his death on social media with 20 broken heart emojis.

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

Originally tweeted by Valerie Bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) on October 6, 2020.

Van Halen lost one-third of his tongue to a cancer that eventually drifted into his esophagus. Eddie is survived by his wife, Janie and son, Wolfgang.