They were impressed with Roth and soon invited him to join them as lead vocalist (later joking that all they really wanted was his amplification equipment), and the group was eventually completed with the permanent addition of Mike Anthony on bass. By the time he was a teenager the aspiring musician, then living with his family in California, was singing solo as well as with a group called the Red Ball Jets.Īnother Los Angeles area group, Mammoth -comprised of a bass player and the two Dutch-immigrant Van Halen brothers, Alex on drums and Edward singing and playing lead guitar -occasionally rented the Red Ball Jets ’ PA system.
Summer visits to his Uncle Manny, who operated the famed Greenwich Village Cafe Wha, were also influential, enabling him to view a variety of performers. His father, an ophthalmologist, presented him, at age seven, with recordings by jazz artist AI Jolson -still one of Roth ’s heroes -and at age eight he began listening to Ray Charles sing on the radio.
Roth, flamboyant as ever, has managed to keep his talents in the public eye with masterful videos and such albums as Eat ’em and Smile and Skyscraper.īorn in Bloomington, Indiana, the rock star remembers being introduced to music fairly early in life. Although many of Van Halen ’s followers feared that neither he nor the band would survive the split, each has continued to dazzle rock and roll devotees. Indeed, after the enormous success of his extended play album Crazy From the Heat, Roth, in a decision that stunned Van Halen fans, decided to leave the group permanently.
Infamous as the lead vocalist and colorful frontman for Van Halen, one of America ’s most popular hard-rock bands, David Lee Roth turned solo artist in 1985.
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