David Lee Roth (b. 1955)

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Biography

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.

Timeline

The story of David Lee Roth, told in moments.

1974 Event

Joined Van Halen as lead singer. The band played Pasadena backyard parties before signing with Warner Bros.

What were Pasadena backyard parties like before fame hit? When did you know Van Halen was special?

1984 Event

Van Halen's 1984 album sold 10 million copies. "Jump" hit No. 1. Roth left the band the next year.

Why leave the biggest band in rock at the peak? Was that confidence or madness?

1986 Life

Went solo. "Yankee Rose" and a cover of "California Girls" were hits. He trained as an EMT in New York City in the 2000s and rode ambulances between tours.

What made you become an EMT between records? What did riding ambulances teach a rock star?

2007 Event

Rejoined Van Halen for a reunion tour that became the highest-grossing in the band's history. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band.

Was the reunion everything you hoped or something else? What does the Hall of Fame mean to someone like you?

Artifacts (15)

The New Best of David Lee Roth

Elephant Gun * Goin' Crazy * Hammerhead Shark * Hina * Hot Dog and a Shake * Just Like Paradise * A Lil' Ain't Enough * Night Life * Shoot It * Stand Up * Yankee Rose * Your Filthy Little Mouth.

1994

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Crazy from the Heat

The tales from the larger-than-life spectacle that was the glory days of Van Halen are the stuff of rock and roll legend. In this unapologetic, Technicolor, high-fiber blast, David Lee Roth comes...

1997

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The Very Best of David Lee Roth

(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook). This collection includes 16 hits from his Van Halen days as well as his solo career: California Girls * Dance the Night Away * Jump * Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got...

2004

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David Lee Roth - Guitar Anthology

(Guitar Recorded Versions). 30 songs from his days as the frontman for Van Halen (with legendary Eddie Van Halen) and his solo career featuring the inimitable Steve Vai on lead guitar in his back-up...

2005

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Eat 'em and Smile

(Guitar Recorded Versions). This songbook matches Diamond Dave's first full-length album featuring Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, and Gregg Bissonette as his back-up band. 10 songs, including: Big Trouble...

2005

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David Lee Roth: Guitar Play-Along Volume 27

(Guitar Play-Along). The Guitar Play-Along Series will help you play your favorite songs quickly and easily! Just follow the tab, listen to the CD to hear how the guitar should sound, and then play...

2006

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David Lee Roth and the Songs of Van Halen

(Guitar Recorded Versions). 22 hard-rocking classics, including: Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love * And the Cradle Will Rock * Beautiful Girls * Dance the Night Away * Everybody Wants Some * Feel Your Love...

2008

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the grandeur of his soul, that quickness of comprehension, and lovely sympathy

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My little Girl begins to suck so MANFULLY that her father reckons saucily on her...

her first child, Fanny, naming her after perhaps her closest friend. Wollstonecraft was overjoyed; she wrote to a friend, "My little Girl begins to suck so MANFULLY that her father reckons saucily on...

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I have formed romantic notions of friendship ... I am a little singular in my th...

d valued her friendship with Arden greatly, sometimes to the point of being emotionally possessive. Wollstonecraft wrote to her: "I have formed romantic notions of friendship ... I am a little...

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Time may show, that this obscure throng knew more of the human heart and of legi...

an hitherto blessed our globe". Against Burke's dismissal of the Third Estate as men of no account, Wollstonecraft wrote, "Time may show, that this obscure throng knew more of the human heart and of...

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Probably you [Burke] mean women who gained a livelihood by selling vegetables or...

unded by "furies from hell, in the abused shape of the vilest of women". Wollstonecraft by contrast wrote of the same event: "Probably you [Burke] mean women who gained a livelihood by selling...

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the tears flow[ing] insensibly from my eyes, when I saw Louis sitting, with more...

ouis XVI, being taken to be tried before the National Assembly, and much to her own surprise, found "the tears flow[ing] insensibly from my eyes, when I saw Louis sitting, with more dignity than I...

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