Diamond David Lee Roth Turns 54
From: chattanoogapulse.com
Abominable Showman
Written by Chuck Crowder
Wednesday, 08 October 2008 21:27
This Friday (Oct. 10th) marks the 54th birthday of rock ‘n roll’s number-two best
front man of all time: (Diamond) David Lee Roth. I say number two, because
it’s widely understood that Mick Jagger has held the top spot since
basically the beginning of rock as we know it.
Diamond David Lee Roth Turns 54
David Lee Roth’s signature vocals and screams, amazing stage acrobatics
and zany off-stage antics have definitely secured his place in rock’s
number-two slot, at least in my opinion.
And there’s not a Roger Daltrey or Robert Plant who can hold a candle to
his bonfire of charisma.
That’s because Roth is/was the consummate California heavy metal rock ‘n
roller. With his flowing blond locks, spandex stagewear, a bright smile
and smart-ass quick wit, there has never been (and probably never will be)
another example of “entertainment” quite like him.
Onstage, as the original lead singer of Van Halen, Roth’s incredible
showmanship could actually draw your attention away from the innovative
hammer fingers of one of rock’s most acclaimed guitar giants, Eddie Van
Halen. I know, because I was privy to a Roth-driven Halen show on three
different occasions, including the Roundhouse in ‘83.
Each show would start with the lights blasting bright, just in time for
you to see Roth in a mid-air leg split off the drum riser, as the band
kicked into crowd-fave “Unchained.” Then he’d prance around the stage in
full command of the sold-out crowd, taunting the screaming young ladies up
front, and leaving just about every dude in the house wishing they were
him. Tremendous jumps, leaps, twists, thrusts–along with samurai sword
and karate routines–would ensure the backstage area was full of ladies
ready to be the next notch on his tasseled leather belt.
Offstage, Roth was the consummate rock personality, attending all of the
movie premieres and MTV-sponsored events and awards shows with the style
and flair of someone who was just ready to have a good time. He was ALWAYS
interviewed by anyone who could grab his attention, because his gift of
gab and lighthearted, but sometimes off-color, comments immediately turned
all eyes and ears to what he’d say next.
But despite his magnetic personality, he wasn’t so much the critics’
darling. Rolling Stone called him “the most obnoxious singer in human
history, an achievement notable in the face of long tradition and heavy
competition.” Ouch. In fact, most journalists at the time took everything
Roth stood for with a grain of salt, largely due to his unapologetic
pursuit of placing good times on the same level as good performance. And
for him, it worked. But since he didn’t take himself very seriously, no
one else did either–including his bandmates.
Tensions among the band escalated during the 1984 tour. Roth continually
made crude (but funny) onstage comments about the happy couple of Eddie
Van Halen and then-wife Valerie Bertinelli, much to the dismay of both the
band and fans alike. After the tour, Van Halen’s desire to incorporate
more keyboards into their music (after their number-one hit “Jump”) and
propensity for writing power ballads flew in the face of the traditional
guitar-metal proponent Roth. So he left the band and did his own thing.
In fact, Diamond Dave went Vegas on us. And it rocked. His covers of
“California Girls” and “Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” were the first
tunes out of the shoot when the other Van Halens were still busy hiring
Sammy Hagar to replace him. Both videos were riddled with bikini babes and
funny characters who were nothing less than brilliant. The latter hit
featured Roth bouncing from movie set to movie set, interrupting
production while being adored by the various types of female fans in each
scene.
My favorite part of the song is the break when he scats “Hum-a-ba-zee-ba-
la-hum-a-ba-zee-ba-la-hum-a-ba-zee-ba-la-be-ba-la-bot — I-I-I-I-I-I-ain’t
got no-bahahahadey.” Pure Roth.
Filed under: David Lee Roth
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October 11th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I think this is a pretty good description of Roth. It brought back memories and reminded me of what the Roth Era Van Halen was all about, “Fun”. The only thing I didn’t care for is putting Mick Jagger in any kind of comparison with Dave. I may be mocked on this site but I can’t stand the Stones. Happy Birthday DAVE!!
October 11th, 2008 at 11:50 am
diamonds are foreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever
October 11th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
A great singer and showman, both in the early years 1978 to 1984, but also in 2007. I hope we get a DVD and live CD from this last tour and some new stuff a lttle later.
October 12th, 2008 at 6:49 am
The abominable showman strikes again!!!!!!!!! Heeee-Yaaaaaa!!!!!!! Doh!!!!!!! Hide your sheep!!!! Its showtime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 12th, 2008 at 7:28 am
This writer must be stoned. I’d say it was “Diamond Dave” himself, but if it was, he would have pegged himself at #1, over Mick Jagger, who sucks more than he does.
October 12th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Happy Birthday Dave…………
October 12th, 2008 at 9:15 am
54 and a body like that!!!!! God bless that man!!!! Love ya Dave
October 12th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Van Halen is what brought my wife and I together 23 years ago in a music class. I interdicted my self to her and at first she said nothing, at that time she pulled her key chain out of her purse and it was the Van Halen 1984 album cover. I told her they are my favorite band, she gave me a look like I was just using that as a pickup line till I pulled out my key chain and showed her it was the same one she had.
We were friends for the first 21 years and then in 2007 we decided to get married later that year. We figured they brought us together so why not pick a date with meaning so we did. We got married on October 10, 2007.
That is how we honored David Lee Roth and Van Halen.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Mick Jagger? WTF? Happy birthday Dave, you’re #1 in my book . . . just stay away from the Wabo Cantina!
October 13th, 2008 at 7:02 am
Dave is the ultimate frontman! He has the charisma on and off the stage and it`s not an act, he is the real deal…unlike many of the other performers out there. I can`t wait to hear the new stuff they are recording
October 13th, 2008 at 7:10 am
“My favorite part of the song is the break when he scats “Hum-a-ba-zee-ba-
la-hum-a-ba-zee-ba-la-hum-a-ba-zee-ba-la-be-ba-la-bot — I-I-I-I-I-I-ain’t
got no-bahahahadey.” Pure Roth.”
I like Roth, but credit where credit is due here, that scat line was (in fact all of them, throughout the song were) pretty much lifted without change from Louis Prima’s version of that song (from 1956). Roth was one of the great frontmen of all time, but on that one he was just doing an impression of another great performer.
October 13th, 2008 at 7:30 am
everybody was jeolous of david
October 13th, 2008 at 7:31 am
David Lee Roth is a great front man, but by no means is he even in the top 5 greatest of all time. He has been out of the light for too long and his attitude detracts from his stage presence. Since when did Mick Jagger become the best front man, too?
Without a doubt, the most creative, talented, and charismatic front man was Freddie Mercury of Queen. So much so that after his death in 1991, there simply was no replacing him and Queen was forced to break up for many reasons - but primarily out of respect and remembrance.
Van Halen quickly replaced Roth with Hagar, who helped Van Halen achieve far greater commercial success and is a more talented singer, I believe. This could be helped by the fact that Hagar is not a raging prick with an ego the size of Buick.
Remember - the Van Halen brothers didn’t originally want Roth in their band because they thought his voice sucked, but they let him join anyway because of his stage presence and ability to stimulate a crowd. Even from the very beginning the band knew that they were settling with Roth so they could get things progressing faster.
October 13th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Wrong!
David Lee Roth did not leave Van Halen because Eddie started using more keyboards.
Roth-era Van Halen only has one keyboard driven song, and that is JUMP.
Was Roth playing Jump in his solo tours, oh yes!
I read Roth’s book, and there wasn’t one word about musical difficulties.
Diamond Dave wanted all to himself, That’s why he left. I am sorry to say that.
Van Halen started using keyboard more when Sammy joined the band.
And let’s talk abou keyboards and songs that are far away from kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll.
How about Roth’s Stand Up, that’s a god damn disco song.
Lil’ Ain’t Enough is very much a keyboard driven song.
Sensible Shoes, Time To Tell To Truth all pop songs more than rock songs.
Billy Sheehan left the DLR-band because Dave started using more programming and stuff like that!! - How ’bout that!
So that’s why I always laugh when guys who are so much in love with Dave that they can’t admit that the guy has and ego size of a mountain.
It is never Dave’s fault, it is mean Eddie who ousted Dave out of the band, etc…
October 13th, 2008 at 7:49 am
there were no vh dates in ‘83 except in south america and the us festival
October 13th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Reservoir goose…..You are a selfish jerk…here it is first of all , The Van Halen Website ( not the Sammy Hagar or Freddie Mercury Website ) and you talk poorly bout Roth , AND Mick Jagger.( What did YOU ever do goose crap? ) Secondly , you insult all the people who made the tour a huge success,jerk.Thirdly and mostly , you have suddenly become a mind reader and time traveler and are able to tell us exactly why Roth was in the band in the first place which , if true , PROVES that the VH brothers are selfish jerks who are in it only for the money .You sound sympathetic to them and their cause which makes you the biggest load on two feet so have fun with your divorce-burger king job-small junk-lonely existence and leave this site for people who have the class and decency to just say happy birthday to one of the greatest showmen ever to live who is Already part of history no matter how many whiny-wimpy-self serving-band geek types try to say otherwise ( that includes both Eddie and you although the difference between him and you is he did something with his life-jerk).
October 13th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Hey R.Goose…Thanks for help keeping this site interesting
October 13th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Happy Birthday to Dave! Hope he never loses that personality!!
October 13th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Remember that quote of Diamond Dave saying ” The reason critics all hate Van Halen and love Elvis Costello is that they all look like Elvis Costello” ? Read the hate ( YES HATE ) that is coming from these guys ( I use the term loosely ) towards Dave…Haven’t been laid lately , have you guys? ( reservoirgoose - ISTO ) Yeah I’m calling you bitter whiners out!
October 13th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Happy B-day to Dave who looks amazing! Of course he is great with VH but I also saw him 9-06 without VH. It was an outdoor concert and he was one of the first acts to come on and the stands were still pretty empty. He didn’t care, he put on an awesome show as if he was playing for a sold-out crowd (like he would be the next fall). Thanks Dave!
October 13th, 2008 at 10:57 am
it`s a real hoot to see all the opinions on Van Halen…..there are only a few individuals who really know what was going on back then between Dave and the band….don`t believe everything you read or hear….just because Rolling Stone prints it, doesn`t make it gospel….everything has been going smoothly….congrats to Edward….i`m sure new stuff will be recorded and released when Alex is ready to tour….he will get that itch to play again just like his nephew and brother….Dave is always ready
October 14th, 2008 at 5:38 am
david lee roth is the best frontman in the world,and everybody that didnt like him were jealous of him.
i want to see him in a major comedy movie dammit.
October 14th, 2008 at 6:17 am
RobbyVenice:
I’m not sure why you feel the need to be so insulting, but I am confident that your laughably poor grammar and sentence structure. n00b.
Now, you force me to dissect your comments and find raging contradictions within.
You mentioned that this is the “Van Halen Website” and then move right into scorning me for talking poorly about Roth and Jagger - but then you talk poorly about the Van Halen brothers yourself! Shame on you, sir. For your information, I am not a mind read nor am I a time traveler. What I am is an avid reader of all things Van Halen. This includes quotes, interviews, books, articles, and so on. If you had bothered to listen to the Van Halen brothers talk about the early days before Roth joined, you would have heard Eddie mention that he thought Roth’s voice sucked, but they needed someone with his energy to front the band - so they relented, Roth joined, and Van Halen was born.
I enjoy your commentary, RobbyVenice. Keep up the good work!
October 14th, 2008 at 6:19 am
RobbyVenice:
I’m not sure why you feel the need to be so insulting, but I am confident that your laughably poor grammar and sentence structure will be your downfall. n00b.
Now, you force me to dissect your comments and find raging contradictions within.
You mentioned that this is the “Van Halen Website” and then move right into scorning me for talking poorly about Roth and Jagger - but then you talk poorly about the Van Halen brothers yourself! Shame on you, sir. For your information, I am not a mind reader nor am I a time traveler. What I am is an avid reader of all things Van Halen. This includes quotes, interviews, books, articles, and so on. If you had bothered to listen to the Van Halen brothers talk about the early days before Roth joined, you would have heard Eddie mention that he thought Roth’s voice sucked, but they needed someone with his energy to front the band - so they relented, Roth joined, and Van Halen was born.
I enjoy your commentary, RobbyVenice. Keep up the good work!
October 14th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Actually, ‘goose, they needed a PA system. Dave rented his to the boys, and instead of paying him everytime they wanted to use it, they decided to have him sing in the band. Eddie was singing before, and it was clear that wasn’t gonna work out! Dave’s “energy” was not why he was hired into the band. I’m a big Van Hagar fan myself, but ‘goose I gotta tell ya, Dave is in the top 5 of all time. He has to be.
October 14th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Hey Res….I appreciate you sharing your info…but its not news..yes i heard Eddie say Roth’s voice sucked in an interview when the Bros had Sammy in the band and Roth was pursuing his solo career ( around 1986′ish ) Because of this (and other things) i think the VH bros are Kind of tragic - they did something that 99.999999% of people who try to do never get a chance to do- succeed , and the best they can do is say they weren’t happy ( kind of like trying to negate some great memories of all our lives- like a scorned lover) so i find them ( when they speak and not play music ) offensive .Like someone who’s outwardly attractive and inwardly hideous,( when they open their mouths they become 3’s-not 10’s ) …I think Freddie Mercury is the greatest Singer of his type and one of the greatest lead singers of a rock group of all time,Furthermore,Hagar is another Hugely talented frontman.But I think Roth Deserves his day.Based on what we read i would say he probably knew they felt this way and had a HUGE chip on his shoulder- which would explain his ego ( making up for shortcomings ) Ultimately ,when i was growing up in a cynical world VH took me away from it and the truth is far from paradise so It was good to CELEBRATE Roth’s Birthday…not tear him down . So , again I say to VH…Be quiet and do what WE PAY YOU to do , make music.The world has its share of people who do NOTHING and get wealth and fame ( Britney,Paris,Lindsay ) If you wanna have a sour outlook , keep it to yourselves eddie and alex…nobody cares
October 14th, 2008 at 7:28 am
P:S Nobody likes poor winners Eddie. Shut up and play music ,that’s what you’re paid for. And hey , Thanks theREALshris , good to see ya’! Hope your hanging tough with all this stock market drama. C-YA!!!!
October 14th, 2008 at 8:33 am
It has been asked.Do Eddie and Alex read these sites? If so , I have some questions. If Roth sucked so bad why did you make 6 albums with him>? If making music is so important Eddie , why wont you tour unless it is lucrative to do so?> You talk about not being vegas Eddie so why do you play and sponsor a guitar that has stripes all over it ,also why do you sell guitar picks to make money?> Why would you hug roth every night of the tour if he’s such an ego fiend?>
October 14th, 2008 at 10:58 am
RobbyVenice:
You just prove my point over and over when you post. You’re a spaz.
theREALchris:
Come on, top 5? There are so many amazing front men and you have to toss Roth in the top 5? My ears tell me his voice is only slightly above average as far as rock bands go and his attitude/ego make him wildly unattractive. He’s clearly all about himself, or was, for many years.
Different preferences though, I suppose. Hagar really made Van Halen come alive for me, until then it was just Roth riding on Eddie’s talented heels (or fingers, rather).
October 14th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Hey goose,
Queen has been touring (off and on) with Paul Rogers for about 6 years now, and doing a GREAT job!!!!
Dave took being a FRONTMAN to the next level.(just like Ed did on guitar). He raised the bar to which “ALL LEAD SINGERS WANTED TO BE” priod end of story.
Look at Sammy in Montrose and as a solo artist. Then watch him with Van Halen. Two totally different Sams.
Look at the influence that Eddie, Dave and Alex had on every band in the 80’s. ALL of those bands wanted to be JUST LIKE VAN HALEN!!!! Including all the Blonde Hair, spandex wearing, wanting to be bigger than life singers.
If David lee and Freddie were to have a baby, it would be the guy from Darkness! So both frontman are still very influentual 30 years later! KUDOS TO BOTH!!!!!
October 14th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Freddie Mercury is the greatest fonrtman of all time?
You have got to be joking.
He’s so totally gay; that’s all you can think about when you watch him. That over-bite, mustache and cock-crazy stare gross me out! I like Queen on record, but he’s just too gay to have mass appeal - and that’s why he isn’t #1.
He might be the greatest gay frontman (is that the proper term in this case?), but anyone whose persona detracts from the music while singing can’t be the best frontman of all time.
October 14th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Wow……….You really put me in my place goose…I mean , saying “You just prove my point over and over when you post. You’re a spaz.” was brilliant ( NOT ). Look goosey , you cant have a battle with an unarmed opponent So I am leaving you alone to argue with yourself , oops , that’s not a fair fight is it? I mean ,What grade are you in? All you could come up with is that? Gimme a challenging counterpoint at least!! Ah well . Happy B-Day Roth….I think goosey wants to give you oral….
October 14th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I say bring all the singers and bass players in for one big night of great VAN HALEN FUN. Remember Van Halen was a big time party band from 1978 to 1984, and gave us some of the best times of our live, then in 1986 we got Sammy Hagar and another great version of Van Halen was born. Everyone likes one or the other version of Van Halen. Even some of Van Halen III was great. So maybe we should the the bunch a great people that are in the band now will give a long awaited live DVD and CD from the 2007 tour. Rock on.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Isto says ‘Van Halen with Roth only had ONE synth driven tune, JUMP’. Really? Try listening dude - ‘One Foot out the Door’, ‘Sunday Afternoon in the Park’ (both 1981), ‘Dancing in the Streets’ (1982) ‘Intruder’ (1982 - and it is Roth, not Eddie, who plays the synth on that one - a simple two-finger part), and ‘I’ll Wait’ and ‘Jump’(1984). Of course Roth sang Jump when he toured as a solo act - why wouldn’t he? - he wrote the lyrics and the vocal melody (as he did with all VH songs). That’s half a song in my book.
Roth left because a number of reasons related to the fact that he was no longer in charge of the band - Eddie’s studio put him in the driving seat, and he spent the best part of a year dragging out the making of ‘1984′ while also making soundtracks for crappy films.
October 27th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Happy B-Day brother Diamond Dave the best front man to hit the stage bar-none the last time I saw you guys was back in ‘84-85
and I really wanted to see you guys again but when you ain’t got no money you ain’t got no show right oh well I will try and save up for your next tour and again happy b-day Dave
November 12th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I seen Dave in 80,81,84,86,87,07,08 There is no better. First time I heard vh was from my friends sisters vh 1 album in 79 and was hooked ever since. This guy was an orginal like no other. He set the trend. They broke the mold after him. There is no other like him. and never will be. Happy B day dave. now lets make some more music.