David Lee Roth

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David Lee Roth

Roth performing with Van Halen in 1978

Background information

Also known as Diamond Dave

Born October 10, 1954 (age 63)

Bloomington, Indiana, United States

Genres Hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal, glam metal

 Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter

Instruments Vocals, guitar, keyboard synthesizer, harmonica,

saxophone

Years active 1972–present

Labels Warner Bros., Interscope, Magna Carta, CMH

Associated acts The David Lee Roth Band, Van Halen

Website [Link]

David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954)[1] is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor,
author, and former radio personality. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame. Roth is best known as the original (1974–1985) and current (2006–present) lead singer
of hard rock band Van Halen. He is also known as a successful solo artist, releasing
numerous RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum albums.[2] After more than two decades apart, Roth
re-joined Van Halen in 2006 for a North American tour that became the highest grossing in the
band's history[3] and one of the highest grossing of that year.[4] In 2012, Roth and Van Halen
released the comeback album A Different Kind of Truth.

Contents
[hide]

 1Early life
 2With Van Halen: 1972–1985, 1996, 2001
 3Solo career: 1985–2006
o 3.1The David Lee Roth Show: 2006
 4Return to Van Halen: 2007–present
 5The Roth Show: 2012–present
 6Solo band members
o 6.1Guitar
o 6.2Bass guitar
o 6.3Drums
o 6.4Keyboard
 7Discography
o 7.1With Van Halen
o 7.2Studio albums/EPs
o 7.3Other appearances
 8References
 9Bibliography
 10External links
Early life[edit]
Roth was born in Bloomington, Indiana. He is the son of Sibyl Roth and ophthalmologistNathan
Roth. Nathan Roth was a renowned eye surgeon who made millions of dollars via his practice
and in real estate. The senior Roth was featured on the TV show Lifestyles of the Rich and
Famous in 1984, on which he claimed that he was Van Halen's first manager helping the group
obtain gigs in the early days. Nathan owned a 14,000-square-foot home in Pasadena,
California named "Rothwood" as well as a chateau named "Bradbury".
Roth is of Jewish heritage.[5] Several members of his family were surgeons: uncles Dave
(neurosurgeon) and Marty (orthopedic surgeon), and a grandfather.[6] His uncle, Manny Roth,
built and owned the New York establishment Cafe Wha? in the early 1960s, which featured
performers such as Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. At age seven, Roth got his first taste of show
business from the inside by hanging out at Cafe Wha?, as mentioned in his book Crazy from
the Heat. His uncle was one of Roth's first guests on his short-lived radio show on New York's
92.3 Free-FM.
After living in Bloomington, Indiana, and Swampscott, Massachusetts, Roth moved to
Pasadena while he was in his teens. Roth stated he "bounced around" a number of schools
and saw a psychiatrist for three years, eventually attending a ranch for troubled teens where he
cared for a horse to build a sense of responsibility.[7] He attended The Webb
Schools in Claremont, California, and John Muir High School in Pasadena, then Pasadena City
College(although he did not graduate) where he met the Van Halen brothers, Eddie and Alex.
During this period Roth worked as a hospital orderly.[6]

With Van Halen: 1972–1985, 1996, 2001[edit]

By the time Roth was in his late teens, he was singing solo, as well as with a group called the
Red Ball Jets. Roth states this name was a reference to the red dye used in food at that time,
including red candy balls, which would exacerbate his hyperactivity and lead to "Monkey Hour"
at the family home. Another Los Angeles group, Mammoth (featuring Alex Van Halen on drums
and Eddie Van Halen singing and playing lead guitar), occasionally rented the Red Ball Jets'
PA system. Roth was invited (and accepted) to join Mammoth as lead singer. In 1974, when
told that another act was using the name, they changed their name from Mammoth to Van
Halen.[8]
Performing both original and cover songs, Van Halen eventually gained local success,
becoming a regular feature at the Starwood Club. It was during their four-month stint there that
they were first discovered. In 1976, Gene Simmons took note of the band (in particular Eddie
Van Halen, who Simmons hoped to recruit for his own band, Kiss) and assisted them in
producing their first demo tape.[9] Although featuring many of the songs that would be included
on their future debut album, the tape garnered little major label attention. In early 1977, Warner
Brothers' Ted Templeman came to the Starwood, heard the group, and signed them to a
contract.[8]
Roth is also a talented guitarist and harmonica player. Most acoustic guitar parts in Van Halen
songs, such as "Ice Cream Man", "The Full Bug", "Could This Be Magic" and many others
showcase his abilities on both slide guitar and acoustic guitar. Virtually all performances, both
in the studio and in live performances, featuring acoustic guitar or harmonica were performed
by David Lee Roth, mostly featured in his early years with Van Halen.
Released in 1978, the debut album Van Halen earned the band significant national attention.
The album was a success, eventually selling more than twelve million copies by 2014. The
original Van Halen released five more successful albums over the next seven years. Roth is
often credited with promoting Van Halen's image as the quintessential rock band, one devoted
to a lifestyle described by David Fricke in Rolling Stone as "a nonstop booze-and-babes party
train." Despite this wild image, Roth was a key to the band's success both as lead singer and
as their principal lyricist. Roth's lyrics worked in harmony with music composed by Eddie Van
Halen to create the trademark tunes that helped transform Van Halen, in Fricke's words, into
"the monster rock action squad that ruled the charts and the airwaves for seven years."[8]
In early 1985, while still a member of Van Halen, Roth released Crazy from the Heat, a popular
solo EP of off-beat standards. Singles for "California Girls" and "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got
Nobody" succeeded largely due to innovative music videos (produced by Jerry Kramer and co-
produced by Glenn Goodwin and Bobby Diebold), which featured ridiculous characters created
by Roth and his Creative Chief Director, Pete Angelus, who directed Van Halen's Roth-era
videos.
Despite the band's success, a creative rift developed between Roth and Eddie Van Halen early
on. The former was mainly interested in lighthearted songs about partying and sex (along the
lines of Aerosmith and AC/DC), while the latter wanted more depth. Van Halen constructed his
own recording studio at home during 1983, which led to an argument with the rest of the band
as it allowed him to develop songs without their input. Furthermore, he began to move towards
a more radio-friendly pop direction with keyboards and synthesizers while Roth opposed this
and felt that the band should play straight hard rock with only guitars and drums. Their sixth
album, 1984, was a critical and commercial success but continued the move toward
mainstream pop. Roth formally parted ways with his bandmates on April 1, 1985. 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 shoot a movie. "We've created a whole
retinue of characters", he noted of his and Pete Angelus's production. "It's a genuine film. It's
not 'Dave Singing' or 'Elvis'."[10] Entitled Crazy From The Heat, the film was budgeted at
$20 million by CBS Films; however, the project folded after the consolidation of CBS Studios.[8]
In June 1996, Roth briefly reunited with Van Halen, to great public fanfare. He recorded two
new songs for Van Halen's Best Of – Volume I, "Can't Get This Stuff No More" and "Me Wise
Magic." After an infamous appearance on September 5, 1996, at the MTV Video Music
Awardsduring which Roth and Eddie Van Halen reportedly threatened each other,[11] Roth was
passed over for Van Halen's vocalist job in favor of Gary Cherone. In 2012, Cherone confirmed
the longtime rumor that he had already been chosen long before the MTV incident, connoting
that Van Halen used Roth to create public interest in the hits collection.[12] "Me Wise Magic",
Van Halen's display of psychedelia-influenced rock with Roth on vocals became a No.
1 BillboardMainstream Rock hit in 1996.
In 2001, rumors swirled that Roth and the members of Van Halen had recorded several new
songs together and were attempting yet another reunion. Roth later confirmed this, but nothing
became of the music. A rumored box set never materialized. Instead, Warner Bros. issued
remastered versions of all six early Van Halen studio albums.

Solo career: 1985–2006[edit]

In late 1985, Roth assembled a virtuoso solo band, consisting of guitarist Steve Vai (previously
of Frank Zappa's band), bassist Billy Sheehan (previously of Talas), and drummer Gregg
Bissonette (previously of Maynard Ferguson's big band). With veteran Van Halen producer Ted
Templeman producing, Roth released his debut solo LP, Eat 'Em and Smile in July 1986. The
album saw Roth return to hard rock music, but also incorporated some of his more eclectic
musical tastes, ranging from jazz to speed metal. Eat 'Em and Smile met with widespread
commercial and critical success, charting at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200, and selling over 2
million copies in the U.S. alone.[13] Roth and his band toured arenas extensively in support
of Eat 'Em and Smile (see Eat 'Em and Smile Tour), before returning to the studio in 1987 to
record a follow-up.
In January 1988, Roth released Skyscraper, a more experimental recording featuring the hit
single "Just Like Paradise." Co-produced by Roth and Steve Vai under the working
title "Cliffhanger", Skyscraper peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard album chart and ultimately sold
two million copies in the US. Soon after Skyscraper's release, Billy Sheehan left Roth's band
due to musical differences.[14] He was replaced in time for the album's support tour with
bassist Matt Bissonette, (drummer Gregg Bissonette's brother.)[15] The international, arena tour
was a major production featuring, at different points during each concert, Roth surfing above
the audience on a surfboard suspended from an arena's rafters, and lowered into the center of
each arena in a descending boxing ring (see Skyscraper Tour). Both parts of the stage show
were featured in the "Just Like Paradise" music video.[16] The show also featured the band in
a calypsosegment playing Caribbean steel drums and in an unplugged segment where the
band performed acoustic covers of some rock and roll classics.[17] Following the tour
for Skyscraper, Steve Vai left Roth's band to pursue a solo career and record and tour
with Whitesnake.
Roth hired 19-year-old guitar virtuoso Jason Becker to replace Steve Vai prior to recording his
third solo LP, A Little Ain't Enough. A straight-ahead hard rock album produced by Bob Rock,
(who had just produced Metallica's self-titled album), A Little Ain't Enough achieved RIAA gold
status shortly after its January 1991 release. Before starting a support tour for A Little Ain't
Enough, Jason Becker was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, rendering him unable to
perform onstage. Guitarist Joe Holmes stood in for Becker during the tour. Later in
1991, Nirvana and grunge rock emerged, altering musical tastes and suddenly making Roth's
brand of hard rock seem unfashionable. Roth's band fractured shortly following the tour's
completion. With one exception – 1997's well-received DLR Band album, featuring
guitarist John 5 and drummer Ray Luzier – until his reconciliation with Van Halen in 2006, Roth
would utilize hired-hands and studio musicians on his club and amphitheater solo tours.
In April 1993, Roth was arrested in New York City's Washington Square Park for buying what
he described as "$10 worth of Jamaican bunk reefer" from an undercover police officer. The
arrest made headlines[18] and became a late-night television punch-line. When asked
by Howard Stern whether the bust was a publicity stunt, Roth said, "Howard, in New York City
this small of a bust is a $35 traffic citation. It literally says 'Buick, Chevy, Other'. Your dog
poops on the sidewalk, it's $50. If I was looking for publicity, I would have pooped on the
sidewalk."
In March 1994, Roth released Your Filthy Little Mouth, a musically-eclectic album produced
by Nile Rodgers.[19] The album failed to achieve positive critical or commercial success, proving
to be Roth's first solo effort not to achieve RIAA Gold or Platinum status shortly after its
release. The support tour found Roth playing smaller venues in the U.S., and larger venues in
Europe. Your Filthy Little Mouth saw a remastered re-release in 2007.
In 1995, Roth returned with an adult lounge act, performing largely in Las Vegas casinos, with
a brass band that featured Nile Rodgers, Edgar Winter, and members of the Miami Sound
Machine. It also featured several exotic dancers, who in Roth's words were "so sweet, I bet
they shit sugar!"[20]
In the late 1990s, Roth trained as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in New York City,
going on over 200 ambulance rides.[21]
In 1997, Roth wrote a well-received, New York Times best-selling memoir, entitled Crazy From
the Heat. The 359-page book was a selected collection of 1,200 pages of monologues, which
were recorded and transcribed by a Princeton University graduate who followed Roth around
for almost a year. The book received mostly positive critical and reader reaction, and helped to
reinvent Roth's image as a popular wit and adventurer, with a bon vivant personality.[citation needed]
In 1998, Roth released a final album of self-penned solo material entitled DLR Band. The
album featured a popular song, "Slam Dunk", which, like a majority of the album, was co-
written by rising guitar hero and longtime Roth fan, John 5. The album was considered a return
to form for Roth by critics.[citation needed]
In 1999, Roth contacted the Songs of Love Foundation asking if he would be able to sing a
song for an ailing child. He went on to record a "Song of Love" for 9-year-old Ashley Abernathy
who was battling leukemia.[22]
In 2002, The "Song for Song: The Heavyweight Champions of Rock and Roll Tour" paired Roth
with his musical nemesis Sammy Hagar, and proceeded to revive the career of Roth. Despite
the monetary success and publicity generated by the tour, Roth's future with Van Halen
seemed uncertain. "Yankee Rose" appeared in the 2002 videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice
City, playing on rock station V-Rock, while generally, Roth became more visible than he'd been
in years, e.g. appearing on commercials for MTV with Justin Timberlake.[citation needed]
In 2003, Roth released his final solo album called Diamond Dave, which included one last self-
penned John 5 collaboration among numerous cover songs.
In 2004, Roth appeared on the TV series The Sopranos as a poker-playing guest of Tony
Soprano. Regarding this, Roth was quoted on his website as saying, "Mom says I'm going to
look like Lee Marvin in 10 years whether I'm in movies or not, so I might as well get after
it!"[citation needed]
On July 4, 2004, Roth performed with the world-renowned Boston Pops Orchestra
at Boston'sannual Pops Goes the Fourth celebration. The performance was witnessed by over
100,000 people live in Boston, and by millions more on U.S. television.[citation needed]
In 2006, Roth appeared on two tracks of an album entitled Strummin' with the Devil which
cover a number of classic Van Halen songs, in bluegrass style. This album topped out at 66 on
the U.S. Billboard country charts.[citation needed]
The David Lee Roth Show: 2006[edit]
Main article: The David Lee Roth Show
Roth was tapped to replace his friend, Howard Stern, on terrestrial radio, following Stern's
decision to align himself with Sirius Satellite Radio. Roth's show lasted for four months, and
ended in a lawsuit. During the course of the show, Roth maintained a relationship with Howard
100 News reporter Steve Langford. Roth and Langford met frequently after shows, with
Langford bringing tape back to Stern of Roth's complaints towards WXRK's management.
Issues included Roth's firing, the missing podcast, and his show being cut off early. On Roth's
final day, April 21, 2006; he performed the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What
You Want" for Stern and discussed an impending lawsuit against CBS.

Return to Van Halen: 2007–present[edit]

On January 24, 2007, after much anticipation, [Link] reported that Roth would rejoin
Van Halen for a 40-date arena and amphitheater tour in mid-2007.[23] This report, among many
others, was confirmed with an official press release posted on the official Van Halen website on
February 2, 2007.
On February 2, 2007 The Official Van Halen Web Site released information that Roth had
rejoined the band along with current members Alex, Eddie, along with Eddie and Valerie
Bertinelli's teenage son, Wolfgang Van Halen. Michael Anthony, Van Halen's original bass
player, played the mid-2004 tour with Sammy Hagar under a 'hired gun' contract. On March 8
the official Van Halen website posted a letter from Eddie Van Halen stating that Ed did not feel
he could perform his absolute best and the tour with Roth would be 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
Eddie'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.
Roth did not attend the ceremony and the event was considered yet another public
embarrassment for the band.[24]
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 Shaffer would
perform "Jump", Roth claimed that there was no longer enough time to rehearse and opted not
to attend the ceremony.
On G4's animated comedy show titled Code Monkeys, Roth was depicted in the 1980s, giving
an inspirational speech to keep the others from taking up jobs at Bellecovision and asked,
"Would David Lee Roth leave Van Halen?"
On August 13, 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, Eddie
Van Halen stated that he and Roth were "like brothers" now. Calling Van Halen a "real band",
both Van Halen and Roth spoke of the possibility of further worldwide touring and a new album
in mind for the future.
On June 5, 2008, Van Halen announced that the 2007–2008 tour with Roth grossed more than
$93 million, a record for the rock band. Van Halen played to nearly one million people during
74 arena shows throughout the United States and Canada, beginning September 27, 2007 in
Charlotte, N.C. and wrapping June 3, 2008 in Quebec City, QC for the 400th anniversary of the
city.
In December 2011, Van Halen announced a 2012 tour with Roth.[25]
The new Roth-fronted Van Halen album A Different Kind of Truth was released on February 7,
2012. A tour commenced in February 2012.
In March 2015, a new live album was released to fans, Tokyo Dome Live in Concert, which
was recorded in June 2013 during the A Different Kind of Truth Tour. That same month, the
band made its first foray into American television by appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!,
announcing a new tour in the process.[26]

The Roth Show: 2012–present[edit]

On October 14, 2012, Roth began to broadcast a video webcast on his YouTube channel, and
soon also on iTunes, called The Roth Show. In the show Roth speaks about a wide variety of
topics including making music videos with Van Halen, tattoos and sarcasm. On November 1, a
music video was posted dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Roth has been a resident
of Tokyo since May 2012 but maintains homes in New York City and Pasadena, California. On
January 2, 2015, Roth posted a Happy New Year video featuring the full version of his cover of
the song "Mustang Sally".[27]