Wolfgang Van Halen marked the one year anniversary of his Mammoth WVH song “Distance” today by thanking the fans and remembering the man he affectionally calls ‘Pop’ – Eddie Van Halen.
“‘Distance’ released a year ago today,” Wolfgang wrote in a post to his Instagram page today. “It’s a special song for two very important reasons. A song commemorating my Pop and our bond, as well as being the very first Mammoth release. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life in more ways than one.
I never could’ve imagined the overwhelming outpour of responses from something so close to my heart. It blew me away.
I just wanted to take this moment to thank you all for listening and for the amazing support you’ve given me and Mammoth this past year. You have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you.
I hope you’re watching and I hope you’re still proud, Pop. I love and miss you more than you could ever know.”
After its November 16, 2020 release, “Distance” went to #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock charts while the video has since received over five million views on YouTube (5,653,793 views as of 11/16/21).
In an interview with Greg Prato for the website Songfacts, Wolfgang explained the origins of the song:
“‘Distance’ is a song that I wrote between 2013 and 2015,” said Wolfgang. “My father had struggled with his health a lot throughout the years, and it was a song that came out during one of the darker times, where it was my brain playing a scenario of what it would be like if I didn’t have him in my life, and being able to focus on the idea that while we may not be together at some point, we’re never really that far apart.”