David Lee Roth Shows Some Swagger
David Lee Roth performs onstage at The Brent Shapiro Foundation Summer Spectacular at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on September 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.
David Lee Roth got put through the wringer on his Las Vegas stint. The general consensus was that he sounded bad, forgot lyrics, and was a hot mess. But personally, I still think Dave has some gas in the tank. DRL recently released a cover of Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally” and David Lee Roth shows some swagger. I think his vocals are strong and the video shows clips of Dave from the last few years dancing. He’s still got moves. He’s also practicing martial arts, hanging with his dog, and walking the streets of Tokyo… listen, maybe you should just watch the video for yourself:
What do you think?
David Lee Roth has also been uploading more episodes of The Roth Show. It’s an audio conversation with Dave talking about pretty much everything. Highlights include Van Halen stories and Dave talking about his life.
The Tao of DLR: 10 Classic Quotes from David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is one of rock’s greatest frontman and, overall, one of music’s most unique characters.
When he’s on stage, he’s the ultimate showman. When he’s off stage and talking with the press, he walks a line between brilliant and insane. One minute, he takes off on a stream of consciousness that convinces you he’s not all there. Then he’ll throw out a surprising one-liner that’ll make you think, “Holy s—…Diamond Dave’s has been smarter than all of us this whole time.”
Roth will often release his “stream of consciousness” moments on YouTube nowadays. Back in February, he released a clip about his music video for “California Girls.” Roth, of course, released his cover of the Beach Boys classic in 1985. The cover was featured on the EP Crazy from the Heat. That EP title would be recycled by Roth as the title of his 1997 autobiography.
Roth reflected in the video, “On a personal note: I feel fairly confident saying that these were some of the best times in my life, not the times on stage that my dad most envied about me. These were probably the moments everyone else’s dad envied most about my life, and looking back now, even I envy me.”
It’s comments like that that set DLR apart from most rock figures, both past and present. During his heyday, Roth was one of rock’s biggest stars because he was fronting one of the biggest bands in the world. Plus, not enough can be said about his stage presence. How could you not love those high kicks and toe touches?! Even today, he’s often more interesting than most “current” lead singers in rock. Then again, who else could really replicate his unique brand of madness?
In honor of years of zaniness, let’s wish a happy birthday to the one, the only David Lee Roth by looking back at these ten quotes attributed to him.
Donielle Flynn has two kids, two cats, two dogs, and a love of all things rock. She’s been in radio decades and held down top-rated day parts at Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington DC radio stations throughout her tenure. She enjoys writing about rock news, the Detroit community, and she has a series called “The Story Behind” where she researches the history of classic rock songs.
