Intro (Edit)

David Lee Roth, often referred to as “Diamond Dave”, was born on October 10, 1955, in Bloomington, Indiana. He is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. He is best known as the lead singer and lyricist of Van Halen. In addition to his work with Van Halen, David Lee Roth is a successful solo artist and has released several platinum and gold solo albums. Roth rejoined Van Halen in 2007 for a North American tour that was the highest grossing tour in the band’s history.

David Lee Roth is the son of Nathan Roth and Sibyl Roth. He is the brother of Allison and Lisa Roth. Roth’s uncle, Manny Roth built and owned the famous New York establishment Cafe Wha? in the early 1960s, when the likes of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix were working there. Seven-year-old David Lee got his first taste of, and desire for, show business from the inside by hanging out at Cafe Wha?.

Roth moved to Pasadena, California in his teenage years.

Roth was educated at The Webb Schools in Claremont, California and John Muir High School in Pasadena. He later attended Pasadena City College, as did the Van Halens, although he did not graduate.

Roth rose to prominence in the 1970s Los Angeles rock scene as the lead singer of Van Halen. In 1974 Roth, after failing a previous audition, joined Alex & Eddie Van Halen’s hard rock band as lead vocalist when the band members decided that letting him join would both save them money and allow Eddie to focus on guitar playing. After finding out that the name Mammoth, which the Van Halens called their band at the time, was being used by another band, Roth persuaded the Van Halen brothers to change the band’s name from Mammoth to Van Halen.

In February 1978, Van Halen released their debut album, Van Halen. It quickly established the group as a commercial success, and is credited with establishing Los Angeles as hard rock’s unofficial capital during the 1980s and early-1990s.

Soon after Van Halen’s debut, Roth became well-known for his flamboyant showmanship and outrageous off-stage behavior. He became a media celebrity. Ofcourse, criticism came—the 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide Vol 2. said that Roth was “the most obnoxious singer in human history, an achievement notable in the face of long tradition and heavy competition”—but it had little effect. Although often noted more for physical than for technical vocal prowess, Roth’s bluesy baritone voice and distinctive screams, along with his often humorous and campy lyrics, were integral to Van Halen’s sound. Roth was able to take his voice into a multi-pitched wheeze/rasp, almost like a train whistle, that few can imitate successfully.

From 1979 to 1984 Van Halen released five more albums: Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, Diver Down, and 1984. Each had increasing popular success and critical acclaim. In 1983, Van Halen was paid $1,500,000 to play one set at the US Festival in California. Van Halen achieved their greatest commercial success, including their first Billboard #1 single, for the song “Jump”, in 1984.

In early 1985, while still a member of Van Halen, Roth released a solo EP of off-beat standards, which became popular. Singles for “California Girls”, and “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” succeeded largely due to their innovative music videos, which featured ridiculous characters created by Roth.

In April 1985, Roth either left Van Halen or was fired, it depends on who is telling the story. Reportedly, tensions between Roth and guitarist Eddie Van Halen broke over Van Halen’s desire to incorporate keyboards, synthesizers, and power ballads into the group’s sound. In his 1998 autobiography, Crazy From the Heat, Roth characterized Van Halen’s music just before his 1985 departure as “morose.” Roth wished to record an album quickly, tour, and then shoot a movie, but his bandmates were apathetic, lethargic, and drunk.

Differing reports persist to this day regarding the causes of Roth’s departure from Van Halen. Regardless, since 1985, Roth and his former bandmates have engaged in an acrimonious, if often colorful, feud that has made headlines for twenty years and has become the subject of much popular debate and speculation.

In late 1985, Roth assembled a band often considered a supergroup. It was made up of guitarist Steve Vai, bass player Billy Sheehan and drummer Gregg Bissonette. He later enlisted Van Halen producer Ted Templeman to produce the band’s debut album. Eat ‘Em and Smile saw Roth return to hard rock music, and met with huge commercial success. The Eat ‘Em and Smile Tour was one of the most successful concert tours of 1986.

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History (Edit)

Van Halen’s first album with Sammy Hagar, Roth’s replacement as lead vocalist, called 5150, was met with great commercial success. It had lost a lot of the heavier rock edge from the previous Roth-era albums. Van Halen allegedly titled their 1988 album OU812, a homophone to “Oh, you ate one too?”, in reference to the title Eat ‘Em And Smile.

In early 1988, Roth released Skyscraper, a more experimental offering than the first solo album. It featured Roth’s most famous original solo song, “Just Like Paradise”, which was a worldwide hit. Skyscraper was co-produced by Roth and Steve Vai, and displayed the growing influence of the guitarist, featuring on many songs the dense layers of compressed guitars that gave it a unique sound that was to differentiate the album from the more Van Halen-sounding Eat ‘Em and Smile. The album was certified platinum, reaching #6 on the Billboard album chart.

Roth went on tour supporting the british metal band Iron Maiden on their 7th Tour Of A 7th Tour in support of their album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Soon after Skyscraper’s release, Billy Sheehan left Roth’s band, who then embarked on a world tour with new bassist Matt Bissonette during most of 1988. The tour was a major production featuring, at various points, Roth surfing above the audience on a surfboard suspended on wires and in a boxing ring.

The tour was a huge success and met with ecstatic reviews in many places. A Sounds magazine review of a show on the tour at St. Louis, Missouri declared it “the greatest rock show on earth” and Kerrang magazine summed up the tour as “a don’t blink or you’ll miss it spectacular” that had the reporter Mick Wall “scrabbling to put new batteries into his pacemaker.” Despite the critical and commercial triumphs of the Skyscraper Tour, Steve Vai left the band to release a solo album.

In 1991, Roth released A Little Ain’t Enough, a more mainstream hard rock album, produced by Bob Rock and it achieved RIAA gold status. Twenty-year old guitar prodigy Jason Becker played on the album, but he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease shortly before the accompanying arena tour. He was replaced by Joe Holmes. Musical tastes changed dramatically by the end of 1991, with the arrival of grunge music, hence Roth’s tour did not sell out many venues, as in the past.

In 1994, Roth released Your Filthy Little Mouth, an eclectic, lyrically intricate album produced by Nile Rodgers. It combined elements of rock, country, reggae, hip hop, lounge, and others. It included the song “Cheating Heart Cafe”, a duet with the popular country singer Travis Tritt. It did not sell well, failing to achieve gold status. Roth then began to perform at smaller venues in the United States.

In June 1996, Roth reunited with Van Halen for a brief time and to great public fanfare. He recorded two new songs for Van Halen’s Best of Vol. 1 album, “Can’t Get This Stuff No More” and “Me Wise Magic.” After an infamous appearance on September 5, 1996, at the MTV Video Music Awards during which Roth and Eddie Van Halen reportedly threatened each other, Roth was passed over for Van Halen’s new lead vocalist job in favor of Gary Cherone.

In 2001, rumors swirled that Roth and the members of Van Halen had recorded several new songs together and were in the process of attempting yet another reunion. Roth later confirmed this, but nothing became of the music. A box set was also rumored, but never materialized. Instead, Warner Bros. re-released remastered versions of all six early Van Halen studio albums.

In 2003, Roth released Diamond Dave, an album of mostly classic rock cover songs.

On January 3, 2006, Roth began a career as a radio personality, hosting a self titled show that replaced satellite-radio-bound Howard Stern in the morning drive slot on CBS Radio stations in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and West Palm Beach. Roth stated in an October 2005 interview with Stern that his show would be political, but at the same time, not overly serious.

On January 24, 2007, after much anticipation, Billboard.com reported that David Lee Roth would rejoin Van Halen for a 40-date amphitheater tour in Summer 2007. This report, among many others, was confirmed with an official press release posted on the official Van Halen website on Feb. 2, 2007.

On February 2, 2007 The Official Van Halen Web Site released information that David Lee Roth had rejoined the band along with current members Alex, Eddie, along with Edward and Valerie’s teenage son, Wolfgang Van Halen. Michael Anthony, Van Halen’s original and only bass player up to now, was fired by Edward before the summer 2004 tour with Sammy Hagar and played that tour under a ‘hired gun’ contract. Michael Anthony’s website confirms his firing. David Lee Roth’s website has a fan poll asking if Michael’s absence will detract from a “reunion” tour. On March 8th the official Van Halen website posted a letter from Edward Van Halen stating that Ed was entering rehab and that the tour with Roth had been indefinitely postponed.

In March 2007 five members of Van Halen, the four original members and Sammy Hagar were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Van Halen brothers did not attend due to Ed’s condition. Roth was to perform with the band Velvet Revolver however conflict with the band caused his part to be canceled. Roth subsequently did not attend the induction, leaving only Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar to represent Van Halen. Both Anthony and Hagar thanked Roth publicly for his contribution to the band during the awards acceptance.

The conflict was rumored to be based on song selection. Roth wanted to perform “Jump”, the band’s highest charting song, but Velvet Revolver would only agree to play “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” or “You Really Got Me”. When it was finally agreed upon that Paul Schaffer would perform “Jump”, Roth claimed that there was no longer enough time to rehearse and opted not to attend the ceremony.

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Update (Edit)

On August 13th, 2007, 6 months after the initial reunion tour was postponed, it was finally confirmed by Van Halen with Roth at a press conference in Los Angeles that they would start the tour back up again and schedule it starting in September 2007. At that conference, David Lee Roth claimed that he and Eddie were “like brothers” now. It was also announced that the band had the possibility of further worldwide touring and a new album in mind for 2008.

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