“Eddie” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

This song serves as a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020) of Van Halen fame. Van Halen is a band that you’ve undoubtedly heard of if you’re familiar with American rock music, and the act was founded by Eddie and his older brother, Alex, in 1972. 

But Eddie could be considered the more popular of the two, because he played guitar (as opposed to Alex being a drummer). Moreover, he was really, really good at it, to the point of being considered by some as a virtuoso with the instrument and accordingly is one of the most renowned guitarists in music history.

Of course the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been in the game a hot minute themselves, and both they and Van Halen hail from California. In other words they were colleagues with Eddie, and as such Flea and the gang would be familiar with him more so than us outsiders.  Actually that’s what these lyrics, as they progress, allude to, i.e. the vocalist having sort of a personal knowledge of Eddie Van Halen’s history. 

That is not to say that the wording comes off as if they were all besties. But obviously, the Chili Peppers are familiar with some of the same partying venues as Van Halen and things of that nature.

Key Sentiment

And ultimately, it can be said that the sentiment which lies at the heart of this piece is one of mourning. That is not to say that the vocalist gets to crying or anything like that. But it is abundantly clear, as legendary as the Peppers themselves may be, that Eddie Van Halen was someone they looked up to.

Moreover, going back to the notion of them all being colleagues, they seem to understand that this line of work is one in which people tend to make moral mistakes, if you will. So they also appear to express hope that a Higher Power will take such into consideration when it comes time to judge Eddie.

Anthony Kiedis talks about Eddie

According to Kiedis, we sometimes don’t realize how connected we are to musicians until when they sadly pass away. This apparently was the case with the Chili Peppers and the late Eddie.

He and his band members therefore composed this song in remembrance of him. However, Kiedis wants fans not to use this song just to remember the death of the late guitarist but rather as a celebration of his colorful life.

Release of “Eddie”

Red Hot Chili Peppers, an American rock crew that has been around since the early 1980s, released “Eddie” on September 23rd, 2022. The song is a single (actually the 2nd) from their 13^th studio album, which has been dubbed “Return of the Dream Canteen”.

The album’s first single titled “Tippa My Tongue” was released in August of 2022.

Credits for “Eddie”

The composition of this song originated with Flea. But by the end of the day the bassist as well as his Chili Peppers’ bandmates are all credited with writing “Eddie”. 

The famed American record producer, Rick Rubin handled the entire production of this track. The full list of credited songwriters is as follows:

• Flea
• Anthony Kiedis
• John Frusciante
• Chad Smith