Wolfgang Van Halen is dedicating his debut solo single, "Distance," to his late father, Eddie Van Halen. He will release the song on Nov. 16, the same day he'll appear on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show.

"'Distance' is a song that was initially written for the debut album, but was going to be held for a later time," the Van Halen bassist said in a statement, Blabbermouth reports. "As my pop continued to struggle with various health issues, I was imagining what my life would be like without him and how terribly I'd miss him. While this song is incredibly personal, I think anyone can relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their own life."

He added that he "never anticipated 'Distance' would be the first song of mine that people would hear, but I also thought my father would be here to celebrate its release along with me."

News of Wolfgang's solo album first broke five years ago; producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette revealed in 2018 that they'd completed it. The multi-instrumentalist — who played everything on the record — signed a record deal with Explorer1 Music Group in February, but he revealed this summer that the COVID-19 pandemic had delayed the project's release.

"I'm working on it! The state of the world has really thrown a wrench into how I saw this releasing (given that no touring is able to happen until this all blows over), but I have a few ideas that I'm really excited about, so stay tuned!" he tweeted in July, responding to a fan question.

Eddie, who died in October at age 65, enthused in 2015 that his son's album sounds "like AC/DC meets Van Halen meets aggressive pop," adding, "The riffs are catchy. It’s a little of everything and sounds like a freight train coming at you. I’ve never heard anything quite like it. It’s so powerful that I’m jealous."