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Distance (Mammoth song)

2020 song by Mammoth

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ139856317 ↗
Source-derived summary

"Distance" is a song by American rock band Mammoth. It was released on November 16, 2020, as Wolfgang Van Halen's debut solo single from his album, Mammoth WVH. The song is a tribute to Wolfgang's father, Eddie Van Halen. It topped both the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay and Hot Hard Rock Songs charts. The song was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 64th Grammy Awards.

Background and release

Wolfgang Van Halen wrote the song while his father was battling throat cancer, thinking about what life would be like without him. He described the song as highly personal, and said that anyone could relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their life. The song was recorded under the name Mammoth WVH, a reference to the original name used by the band Van Halen. Wolfgang said the idea for the song had existed for some time, and decided to finish and release the song, stating that he wanted to "put it out for dad". He was able to play the song for his father before his death, and it became one of Eddie's favorite tracks. Wolfgang said that his father cried when he first heard the song.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Distance (Mammoth song)” as 2020 song by Mammoth. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2020—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Distance, Mammoth and song can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 2020 song by Mammoth. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q139856317. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2020.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Distance (Mammoth song)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Distance (Mammoth song) primary sources, Distance (Mammoth song) archive and Distance research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Distance (Mammoth song)”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Distance (Mammoth song)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.