epa01090254 Alex Van Halen (L), David Lee Roth (2-L), Eddie Van Halen (2-R) and Wolfgang Van Halen (R) of US rock band Van Halen smile during a press conference announcing Van Halen's first national tour in 22 years in Los Angeles, California, USA, 13 August 2007. Van Halen will tour with all its original members except for bassist Anthony Michael who has been replaced by Eddie Van Halen's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang. EPA/SEAN MASTERSON By Dan Whitcomb
"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," Wolfgang Van Halen, a bass player who played with his father in the band, said in the tweet.
"He was the best father I could ever ask for," Wolfgang Van Halen said on Twitter. "Every moment I've shared with him on and off stage was a gift."
Eddie and his brother Alex founded Van Halen in the early 1970s in Los Angeles and the hard rock band became a staple of the famed Sunset Strip before releasing their eponymous debut album in 1978.
The album shot to number 19 on the Billboard charts, becoming one of the most successful debuts of the decade. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Leslie Adler and Aurora Ellis)