Watch Nancy Wilson Give a Porch-Side Performance of "4 Edward," Her Tribute to Eddie Van Halen

A couple of weeks ago, Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson premiered "4 Edward," an acoustic instrumental she wrote as a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen.

The closing track on her debut solo album, You and Me, Wilson was inspired to write the piece by an interaction she had with the guitar great when Heart was on tour with Van Halen.

A few days back, Wilson sat down with one of her signature HD-35 Martin acoustics to give an intimate, porch-side performance of "4 Edward," which you can check out above.

You can also give the studio-recorded version of the piece a spin below.

"4 Edward" was inspired by a time when – after he complimented her on her acoustic guitar skills – Wilson asked Eddie why never played an acoustic on stage, to which Eddie replied that he didn't even own an acoustic guitar. 

Wilson soon fixed that, gifting Eddie an acoustic that he promptly used to write a song – which he played for her over the phone – that "stole Wilson's heart." Wilson wrote “4 Edward” as a way of returning the favor.

You and Me features guest spots from the likes of Sammy Hagar, Duff McKagan, Taylor Hawkins, and Liv Warfield, and is set for a May 7 release via Carry On Music. You can check out its track list and cover art below.

The cover of Nancy Wilson's solo debut, 'You and Me'

(Image credit: Carry On Music)

Nancy Wilson – You and Me:

1. You and Me
2. The Rising
3.  I’ll Find You
4.  Daughter
5.  Party at the Angel Ballroom (with Duff McKagan & Taylor Hawkins)
6.  The Boxer (with Sammy Hagar)
7.  Walk Away
8.  The Inbetween
9.  Dreams (with Liv Warfield)
10.  The Dragon
11.  We Meet Again
12.  4 Edward

Jackson Maxwell
Associate Editor, GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.