David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth known as "Diamond Dave" is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three separate periods: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2007 to when they disbanded in 2020. He has had a successful solo career, releasing eight albums, four of which have been RIAA-certified Gold or Platinum. 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, and one of the highest-grossing of that year. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen. Roth had solo hits with the songs "California Girls", "Yankee Rose", and "Just Like Paradise" in the late 1980s.
Early life
Roth was born in Bloomington, Indiana to Nathan Lee Roth, an ophthalmologist, and Sibyl Roth, a teacher. He has two sisters, one of whom is Lisa Roth, creator of the Rockabye Baby! lullaby music. The family is of Jewish heritage. Roth's uncle Manny Roth was the owner of Cafe Wha? in New York City. All four of Roth's grandparents were immigrants from Russia and his great-grandfather was a Lithuanian cavalryman. From an early age, Roth had an interest in art, especially film and radio; he said his first music idol was Al Jolson.Roth spent much of his youth in New Castle, Indiana. In a 2019 interview with Q95's "Stuck and Gunner" he explained: "My grandparents moved to New Castle in 1913. It's in the sense of humor, the 'get it done' and how we do get it done approach work ethic of Van Halen, frankly. It's a Midwest approach, not some flakey Hollywood horse manure." The Roths briefly lived in Swampscott, Massachusetts.
In his teens, the family relocated to Pasadena, California. David attended The Webb Schools in Claremont, California, and John Muir High School in Pasadena. Roth's parents arranged for him to receive treatment with a psychiatrist for three years because he was prone to daily bouts of hyperactivity, dubbed "monkey time". Roth attended a horse ranch for troubled teens to build a sense of responsibility. While attending Pasadena City College, he met the Van Halen brothers, Eddie and Alex. During this period, Roth worked as a hospital orderly.
First run with Van Halen: 1972–1985
In his late teens, Roth was singing solo, as well as with an R&B-influenced rock band named the Red Ball Jets. Roth says the name was in 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 band, Mammoth, occasionally rented the Red Ball Jets' PA system for $10/night. After a couple of failed auditions, Roth joined Mammoth as lead singer. In 1974, Mammoth officially changed its name to Van Halen. According to Roth, this was his brainchild. He felt it was a moniker that offered long-term identity, aesthetic, and marketing advantages, like Santana.Performing original and cover songs, Van Halen eventually gained success in the Pasadena, West Hollywood, and Los Angeles areas, becoming a regular feature on Sunset Strip clubs, such as Gazzarri's, Myron's, Whisky a Go Go, and the Starwood Club. In 1976, Gene Simmons took note of the band and assisted them in producing a 10-track demo tape, featuring songs that would be included on their first two LPs and their 1984 album. The tape, however, did not attract much interest from major record labels. In early 1977, however, during their four-month stint at The Starwood, Warner Bros executive Mo Ostin and producer Ted Templeman signed them to an inauspicious two-album contract, one that heavily favored Warner Bros., offering but a.70 per unit royalty. Manager Noel Monk, then an equal partner in band revenue, renegotiated this rate for double in 1979.
Released in 1978, the debut album Van Halen was recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders and immediately earned the band significant national attention and radio airplay. They toured for three months at the bottom of the bill supporting rising superstars Journey and Montrose, then another nine months opening for heavy metal icons Black Sabbath. The album reached number 19 on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold more than 12 million copies by 2014, certified Diamond by the RIAA.
Van Halen recorded four more platinum-selling albums over the next five years, often within 12 to 14 days and immediately returning to the road to tour. Roth is often credited with promoting Van Halen's image, described by David Fricke in Rolling Stone as "a nonstop booze-and-babes party train." Yet despite this 'wildman' image, Roth was key to the band's success not just as a high kicking, tight pantsed, Capezio-wearing singer and lyricist, but as the de facto chairman of the board in band decisions of business, marketing and publicity, according to Monk. Roth's sexy, macho but poetic, often jovial lyrics worked in perfect harmony with the hard rock guitar sounds composed by Eddie Van Halen; a sound-style that helped the band rise near the top of the Billboard chart in 1984, with their album 1984. Looking back at Roth's tenure, Fricke dubbed Van Halen as "the monster rock action squad that ruled the charts and the airwaves for seven years." "I remember hearing about this new band, Van Halen with David Lee Roth," recalled Aerosmith front-man Steven Tyler. "'Who does this fucking guy think he is? He's standing in my limelight.' I'd fucked myself up royally."
Despite the band's seven-year financial and artistic success, a creative rift developed between Roth and Eddie Van Halen early on. Roth was interested in popularity via original or even cover songs about partying, dancing, women and sex, along the lines of Aerosmith, AC/DC or even disco, while Eddie wanted darker, deeper tunes in minor keys, like those on their 4th LP Fair Warning. They had been artistic foils on the first three albums, but their fifth LP, Diver Down, saw a disgruntled Edward "sacrificing" his original synthesizer and guitar riffs to five cover songs, three of which became singles: "Dancing in the Street", "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" and " Pretty Woman".
In 1983, Eddie designed and constructed a recording studio in his home with the band's recording engineer, Donn Landee. This led to creative conflict, as it allowed the guitarist to be in control of the recording process. Furthermore, he began to experiment with keyboards and synthesizers, while Roth preferred guitar-heavy hard rock. Their sixth and final album together until 2012, 1984, was a critical and commercial success and continued the band's move toward mainstream pop music. It reached No. 2 on the charts.
In early 1985, while still a member of Van Halen, Roth released Crazy from the Heat, an eclectic solo EP of off-beat pop standards. Some months before Roth's departure, Noel Monk, their manager of seven years was fired suddenly by the Van Halen brothers; he speculated that was testing the waters for a potential separate, solo career.
According to Monk, Roth formally parted ways with his Van Halen bandmates in August 1985, taking with him 60 Van Halen employees, including VH Head of Security, Ed Andersen. In his 1997 autobiography, Crazy from the Heat, a bitter Roth characterized Van Halen's music just before his 1985 departure as "morose".
1996 reunion
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 Awards during which Roth and Eddie Van Halen reportedly threatened each other, 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, suggesting that Van Halen used Roth to create public interest in the hits collection. "Me Wise Magic", Van Halen's display of psychedelia-influenced rock with Roth on vocals, became a No. 1 Billboard Mainstream Rock hit in 1996.2001 reunion
In 2001, rumors circulated that Roth and the members of Van Halen had recorded several new songs together and were attempting yet another reunion. Roth and bassist Michael Anthony later confirmed that information, but nothing came of the music. The demos recorded at the sessions would be reworked in 2012's A Different Kind of Truth, but with Wolfgang Van Halen replacing Anthony. A rumored box set did not materialize. Instead, Warner Bros. issued remastered versions of all six early Van Halen studio albums.Solo career: 1985–2006
Commercial success: 1985–1991
In 1984, Roth wished to record a solo EP quickly and shoot a film. "We've created a whole retinue of characters," he noted of his vision with Angelus. "It's a genuine film. It's not 'Dave Singing' or 'Elvis'." Entitled Crazy from the Heat, the EP was released in January 1985, while the film was budgeted at $20 million by CBS Films; however, the project folded after the consolidation of CBS Studios.In late 1985, now separated from Van Halen, Roth assembled a virtuoso supergroup, consisting of guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Gregg Bissonette. 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's return to hard rock music, but incorporated some of his eclectic musical tastes, including a jazz cover of Frank Sinatra's "That's Life" and the bluesy, 1960s hit "Tobacco Road". Eat 'Em and Smile met with widespread commercial and critical success, charting at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200, selling over two million copies in the U.S. alone. Roth and his band toured arenas extensively in support of Eat 'Em and Smile before returning to the studio in 1987 to record a follow-up album.
In January 1988, Roth released Skyscraper, a more experimental LP 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 Skyscrapers release, Sheehan left Roth's band due to musical differences. He was replaced in time for the album's support tour with bassist Matt Bissonette. The international Skyscraper Tour arena 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. Both parts of the stage show were featured in the "Just Like Paradise" music video. The show featured the band in a calypso segment playing Caribbean steel drums and in an unplugged segment where the band performed acoustic covers of old rock and roll songs. Following the tour for Skyscraper, 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 Vai prior to recording his third solo LP, A Little Ain't Enough in 1991. A hard rock album produced by Bob Rock, 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, 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 popular tastes and suddenly making Roth's brand of hard rock seem unfashionable. Roth's band fractured shortly following the tour's completion.