David Lee Roth

Roth was born in Bloomington, Indiana to an ophthalmologist father Nathan Lee and a teacher Sibyl Roth. He has two sisters,[6] one of whom is Lisa Roth, creator of the Rockabye Baby lullaby music series. [7] The family is of Jewish heritage.[8] From an early age, Roth had an interest in the arts, especially film and radio,[9] and said his first music idol was Al Jolson.[6]

After living in Bloomington and later Swampscott, Massachusetts, Roth moved to Pasadena, California, in his teens. 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.[6] He attended The Webb Schools in Claremont, California, and John Muir High School in Pasadena. While attending Pasadena City College, he met the Van Halen brothers, Eddie and Alex. During this period Roth worked as a hospital orderly.[10]

In his late teens, he was singing solo, as well as with a group called the Red Ball Jets. Roth says 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. (Red Ball Jets is also the name of a brand of sneakers popular from 1951 to 1971.[11]) 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 agreed 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.[12]

Performing original and cover songs, Van Halen eventually gained local success, becoming a regular feature at the Starwood Club. During their four-month stint there they were 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.[13] 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.[12]

Released in 1978, the debut album Van Halen earned the band significant national attention. The album eventually sold more than 12 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 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."[12]

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. Eddie constructed his own recording studio at home during 1983, which led to a conflict with the rest of the band as it allowed him to create music without their input. Furthermore, he began to move towards a more radio-friendly pop direction with keyboards and synthesizers; Roth insisted 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 Angelus's production. "It's a genuine film. It's not 'Dave Singing' or 'Elvis'."[14] 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.[12]

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, including jazz and blues. 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.[17] 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 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, Sheehan left Roth's band due to musical differences.[18] He was replaced in time for the album's support tour with bassist Matt Bissonette, (drummer Gregg Bissonette's brother.)[19] The international, arena Skyscraper 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. Both parts of the stage show were featured in the "Just Like Paradise" music video.[20] The show also featured the band in a calypso segment playing Caribbean steel drums and in an unplugged segment where the band performed acoustic covers of some rock and roll classics.[21] 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. 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, 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[22] 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. 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. A remastered Your Filthy Little Mouth was released 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!"[23]

In the late 1990s, Roth trained as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in New York City, going on over 200 ambulance rides.[24]

In 1997, Roth wrote a well-received, New York Times best-selling memoir, 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 for almost a year. The book received mostly positive critical and reader reaction, and it helped to reinvent Roth's image as a popular wit and adventurer, with a bon vivant personality.

In 1998, Roth released DLR Band, another album of self-penned solo material. 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.

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.[25]

In 2002, The "Song for Song: The Heavyweight Champions of Rock and Roll Tour" paired Roth with his musical nemesis Sammy Hagar, and it 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 had been in years, such as appearing on commercials for MTV with Justin Timberlake.

In 2003, Roth released an album called Diamond Dave, which included one 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!"

On July 4, 2004, Roth performed with the world-renowned Boston Pops Orchestra at Boston's annual Pops Goes the Fourth celebration. The performance was witnessed by over 100,000 people live in Boston, and by millions more on US television.

In 2006, Roth appeared on three tracks of an album titled 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.[26]

In 2012, he completed another full length album of new material with John 5 on guitar.[27] Roth confirmed in October of 2019 the album will soon be released now that he can start making "real plans" without Van Halen.[28]

In 2019 Roth announced a nine-date solo residency at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino House of Blues in 2020, with shows scheduled for Jan. 8, 10 and 11 and March 18, 20, 21, 25, 27 and 28. He will also embark on an American tour with the band Kiss, playing 43 cities as a opening act. A press release promises that Roth will play all the expected big hits and "delight fans with an explosive two-guitar sound," but makes no mention of who will make up the singer's band.

The band members' names were revealed after the first show, along with a set list that was heavy on Van Halen classics and covers, but only featured two songs from his solo album - Big Train from YFLM and Just Like Paradise from Skyscraper.[29] For the second night, six songs were added and two dropped from the setlist.[30]

On January 24, 2007, after much anticipation, Billboard.com reported that Roth would rejoin Van Halen for a 40-date arena and amphitheater tour in mid-2007.[31] 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, and Valerie Bertinelli's teenage son, Wolfgang Van Halen. On March 8 the official Van Halen website posted a letter from Eddie Van Halen stating that he 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.[32] 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 there was no longer enough time to rehearse and opted not to attend the ceremony.

On August 13, 2007, six 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 again 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, North Carolina 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.[33] The new Roth-fronted Van Halen album A Different Kind of Truth was released on February 7, 2012, and a tour commenced that month.

In March 2015, a new live album was released, Tokyo Dome Live in Concert, 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.[34]

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".[35]

In 2018, Roth, together with business partner and tattoo artist Ami James, created INK the Original, a full line of skincare products that protect tattooed skin.[36] Roth spent more than 300 hours getting tattooed in Japan between 2013 and 2014, and saw the body art market expand.[37]

In June 2020, in response to the actions of Lady A and others after the George Floyd protests, Roth announced he wants to be known as "David L. Roth" or "El Roth".[38] This appears to be a joke.[39]

• David Lee Roth (1997). Crazy From the Heat. ISBN 0-7868-6339-0

• Official website
• David Lee Roth on IMDb