David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar posted new tributes to Eddie Van Halen as they mourned his death this week.
The Van Halen lead singers followed up their initial tributes to their legendary collaborator with new posts on social media as the impact of his death continued to make headlines around the world.
Roth — who fronted the band during their 1970s and early ’80s heyday and on and off in the decades following — shared a throwback black-and-white photo to Instagram that showed him with his arm around Van Halen as they shared a laugh.
In the caption to the photo, the singer reiterated his original sentiment about the “long great trip” the two of them had together throughout the past five decades.
In the post’s comments section, grieving fans reacted to the photo of one of the happier times for the dynamic rock duo.
‘The McCartney/Lennon of my generation,” one fan wrote.
“Greatest duo in American Rock N’ Roll History,” another added.
” Thanks for a real good time.”
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Hagar — who replaced Roth as Van Halen’s singer in 1985 until 1996, before reuniting with the band once again in the early-2000s — shared an emotional video to Instagram as he reflected on the passing of the rock legend after rehearsing for his annual birthday show with his band The Circle.
In the video, Hagar sat alongside former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony as he explained how surreal their late bandmate’s death feels to them.
“It was just like getting hit by a freaking Mack truck. It kind of took the wind out of the sails… I just wanna say that I’m kind of devastated… A Van Halen song never felt so hard to sing and play in my life.”
Hagar added that he found comfort in the fact that the music they made will live on and that he felt grateful for timeless songs such as Van Halen’s 1991 hit “Right Now.”
“We’ll never play it with Eddie again, but thank God for this… The music will live forever. I’ll sing it as long as I live,” Hagar vowed.
The two musicians closed the video by saying, “We love you, Eddie.”
The clip also showed footage of Hagar asking for a moment of silence for Van Halen as he rehearsed on at outdoor stage on Catalina Island.
Hagar’s post received love from fellow rockers, including Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang.
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Hagar also revealed this week that he “quietly” reconciled with Van Halen earlier this year after a lengthy estrangement.
