Credit: Neil Zlozower
David Lee Roth soared his way to number 20 on Billboard‘s recent rankings of the 50 greatest rock lead singers of all time.
Here’s what Billboard’s Thom Duffy had to say about Diamond Dave:
Before he launched his solo career as a clown prince of rock in 1985 with his campy cover of “California Girls,” Roth wailed above the power chords of another cover, The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” to propel Van Halen into the Hot 100 for the first time in 1978. With the bare-chested blonde as its flamboyant frontman, the SoCal band transcended the hair-metal wave of the 80s, packing stadiums and topping the Billboard charts. While Sammy Hagar took over lead vocals when Roth went solo, the latter’s peerless presence — part game show host, part circus performer — remained inextricable with the band, and he returned for multiple reunions. Upon Eddie Van Halen’s death from cancer on Oct. 6, 2020, Roth said singing the band’s songs with the guitarist “was better than any love affair I ever had.
The Entire Billboard Rankings
50 Zack de la Rocha (Rage Against the Machine)
49 Rubén Albarrán (Café Tacvba)
48 Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters)
47 Paul Westerberg (The Replacements)
46 Poly Styrene (X-Ray Spex)
45 Corey Glover (Living Colour)
44 Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead)
43 Courtney Love (Hole)
42 Serj Tankian (System of a Down)
41 Liam Gallagher (Oasis)
40 Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes)
39 Paul McCartney (The Beatles)
38 Iggy Pop (The Stooges)
37 Gwen Stefani (No Doubt)
36 Joe Strummer (The Clash)
35 Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane)
34 Chester Bennington (Linkin Park)
33 Gustavo Cerati (Soda Stereo)
32 Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath)
31 Laura Jane Grace (Against Me!)
30 Steve Perry (Journey)
29 Ann Wilson (Heart)
28 Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
27 Lou Reed (The Velvet Underground)
26 Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
25 Janis Joplin (Big Brother and the Holding Company)
24 Rob Halford (Judas Priest)
23 Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
22 Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)
21 Jim Morrison (The Doors)
20 David Lee Roth (Van Halen)
19 Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill)
18 Jack White (The White Stripes)
17 Chris Cornell (Soundgarden)
16 Michael Stipe (R.E.M.)
15 Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders)
14 Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)
13 Hayley Williams (Paramore)
12 Roger Daltrey (The Who)
11 Robert Smith (The Cure)
10 Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses)
9 Bono (U2)
8 George Clinton (Parliament/Funkadelic)
7 Debbie Harry (Blondie)
6 David Byrne (Talking Heads)
5 Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
4 Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
3 Freddie Mercury (Queen)
2 Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac)
1 Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones)