Wolfgang Van Halen confirmed he’s featured on the Barbie soundtrack.
The multi-instrumentalist shared a series of photos on Instagram from the film’s premiere event in Los Angeles. He wrote in the caption, “So here’s some news! I attended the @barbiethemovie premiere last night with @photosbydraia because I’m on the score/soundtrack! My buddy @iammarkronson hit me up earlier this year needing my ‘mammoth guitar sound’ and I happily obliged. Honored for the opportunity to contribute some guitar playing throughout this hilarious/surreal/heartfelt movie. Go check it out on July 21!”
Wolfgang added, “If anyone is curious about specifics, I have a lot of textural stuff throughout the film with two major spots where I do some soloing. One in particular is pretty cool because it’s the big song that Ryan Gosling sings, and Slash plays on it as well! There’s a specific moment in this song that’s only in the movie where I’ve got this fun solo with some tapping and stuff lol. Such a cool opportunity. Honored to be a part of it.”
Plenty of notable people showed up in the comment section of Wolfgang’s post, including former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony. He wrote, “Hahahaha, I wasn’t planning on seeing this movie, but now I gotta go check it out!! Way to go, Wolf…” Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens also commented, “Awesome. Always dug yer Dad’s contributions to ‘The Wild Life’ soundtrack.”
Before Wolfgang shared his Barbie news, producer Mark Ronson shared on the red carpet of its Los Angeles premiere Slash’s involvement in the soundtrack. The producer told Variety Slash played on the Ryan Gosling song “I’m Just Ken.”
Ronson noted, “I sent him the song, and he was like, ‘This is a good song … I’ll play on it.’ He was so cool, and he killed it. He plays this solo at the end. It’s wonderful.”
Mark Ronson talks about working with Slash on the #Barbie movie soundtrack: “I sent him [Ryan Gosling’s] song, and he’s like, ‘This is a good song…Cool, I’ll play on it.'” https://t.co/bDoALKf52G pic.twitter.com/lvFrlGvi10
— Variety (@Variety) July 10, 2023