Valerie Bertinelli Tells Son Wolf She Wanted to Marry Elton John Before Meeting Eddie Van Halen

"Elton John — thought I was going to marry him before I met your dad," Bertinelli told her son Wolf on this week's Mother's Day episode of SiriusXM's Classic Rewind series Wolfgang's Top of the Pack

Valerie Bertinelli attends the Build Series to discuss 'Kids Baking Championship" & "Family Restaurant Rivals' at Build Studio on August 21, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images); Elton John attends the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/WireImage)
Valerie Bertinelli and Elton John. Photo: Dominik Bindl/Getty; Jon Kopaloff/WireImage

Valerie Bertinelli and her son Wolf Van Halen are reminiscing on songs they used to listen to with his late father, Eddie Van Halen.

The 61-year-old One Day at a Time actress appeared on this week's Mother's Day episode of SiriusXM's Classic Rewind series Wolfgang's Top of the Pack for a sincere discussion about the music she'd play for Eddie, who died at 65 on Oct. 6, 2020 after a years-long battle with cancer, during hard times.

After playing Pat Benatar's 1984 hit "We Belong," Bertinelli shared a sweet anecdote about what the song meant to their relationship. "I love that song so, so, so much," she said on the radio show. "This is a song that… Your dad and I were going through some challenging times, and its lyrics really, really, really hit me."

"He went back and forth, as you know, throughout — I think this song was from the '80s," continued the Hot in Cleveland star. "First of all, I love Pat Benatar. Her voice was strong and operatic, and she was able to make that into an amazing rock song and rock voice."

"But these lyrics were really about staying together and letting the person know how much you belong together no matter what the struggles you might be going through," she added. "Again, something uplifting, and the harmonies in this are beautiful. I love that song, so yeah. It meant something to me and dad."

Wolf then began cueing up the next song — Elton John's "Burn Down the Mission" from his 1970 Tumbleweed Connection album, which prompted Bertinelli to tell a story about romantic feelings she once felt for the five-time Grammy winner.

"Elton John — thought I was going to marry him before I met your dad," she said.

"That wouldn't have worked," quipped Wolf, referencing the fact that John, 75, identifies as gay.

"No, it wouldn't have," Bertinelli replied. "But I still love and adore him, and I think he's brilliant. This is one of my absolute favorite songs, 'cause I love the piano rideout."

"The live version is even more stunning, but I definitely wore this album out, and then eventually I was able to meet him with your dad, and he definitely liked your dad more than me," she said with a laugh.

Eddie Van Halen, Wolfgang Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli sighted at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California on January 29, 1997. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Eddie Van Halen, Wolf Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli. Ron Galella Collection/Getty

"I'm sure he liked you very much," the radio host assured his mother.

"He was so sweet," she recalled. "I just absolutely adore Elton John."

Elsewhere in the episode, Wolf played Alanis Morissette's "Thank U" from her fourth album, 1998's Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Once the song finished, Bertinelli revealed it's another track she'd play to cheer up Eddie.

"I wanted Ed to hear it," she remembers. "I wanted to pump him up and make him feel good, and find the positive in life — because there was a lot of stress in his life, and a lot of hurts and pain that went on that he would cover up in ways that weren't healthy for him."

"So I was trying to give him a little motivation, and this song — he loved it," added Bertinelli. "It made him cry. He liked it."

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