David Lee Roth

David Lee Roth was born in Bloomington, Indiana, and spent part of his youth in New Castle, Indiana, before his family moved through Massachusetts and eventually settled in the Los Angeles area. His father, Nathan Roth, was an ophthalmologist, and his mother, Sibyl Roth, was a teacher. Roth attended The Webb Schools and John Muir High School before studying at Pasadena City College.

Roth developed an early interest in film, radio, art, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Al Jolson was one of his first musical idols, while later influences included Ray Charles, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. At Pasadena City College, he met Eddie and Alex Van Halen, and he also performed with the R&B-influenced rock band Red Ball Jets.

Roth joined Mammoth, the band featuring Eddie and Alex Van Halen, after the group had occasionally rented the Red Ball Jets' public-address system. In 1974, Mammoth changed its name to Van Halen, a name Roth advocated after learning that another group already held the rights to Mammoth. Michael Anthony later joined as bassist. The band became a fixture at clubs in Pasadena, West Hollywood, and Los Angeles, including venues on the Sunset Strip.

Van Halen's self-titled 1978 debut brought national attention and included songs such as "Runnin' with the Devil" and "Jamie's Cryin'." Roth's expressive vocals, lyrics, fast-talking patter, jumps, and acrobatic stage moves helped establish the group's theatrical identity. The band followed the debut with four more platinum-selling albums during the next five years, culminating in 1984, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard album chart and produced Van Halen's first No. 1 single, "Jump."

Roth and Eddie Van Halen increasingly differed over the band's musical direction. Roth favored party-oriented, danceable hard rock and theatrical presentation, while Eddie pursued darker arrangements and expanded use of keyboards and synthesizers. Roth released the solo EP Crazy from the Heat in January 1985 and formally left Van Halen later that year.

After leaving Van Halen, Roth assembled a prominent solo band with guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Gregg Bissonette. Produced by Ted Templeman, Eat 'Em and Smile returned Roth to hard rock while incorporating jazz, blues, and pop influences. Released in 1986, it reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and included "Yankee Rose."

Roth's 1988 album Skyscraper took a more experimental and pop-oriented approach. It reached No. 6 and featured "Just Like Paradise." The accompanying arena production included Roth surfing above the audience on a suspended surfboard, descending in a boxing ring, and performing calypso and acoustic segments. Steve Vai left the band after the tour, and Roth hired 19-year-old Jason Becker for A Little Ain't Enough.

Becker was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease before the support tour and could not perform onstage, so Joe Holmes played guitar during the concerts. A Little Ain't Enough, released in 1991, achieved gold status. The rise of grunge later that year changed the commercial climate for the flamboyant hard rock style associated with Roth.

Roth continued experimenting after the early-1990s shift in popular music. His 1994 album Your Filthy Little Mouth, produced by Nile Rodgers, was musically eclectic but did not match the commercial performance of his earlier solo releases. In 1995, he presented an adult lounge act in Las Vegas with a brass band that included Rodgers and Edgar Winter.

Roth reunited briefly with Van Halen in 1996 to record "Me Wise Magic" and "Can't Get This Stuff No More" for Best Of. Volume I. "Me Wise Magic" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, but the reunion did not lead to a lasting return at that time. Roth published the memoir Crazy from the Heat in 1997 and released DLR Band in 1998, an album that included material co-written with guitarist John 5.

In 2002, Roth toured with Sammy Hagar on the "Song for Song: The Heavyweight Champions of Rock and Roll Tour." The pairing brought together two singers strongly associated with Van Halen's history. Roth released Diamond Dave, his last solo album, in 2003.

Roth trained as a state-licensed emergency medical technician in New York and volunteered on ambulance calls. He said he had taken part in more than 200 emergency rides. He also appeared as a poker-playing guest on The Sopranos and performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra at the 2004 Pops Goes the Fourth celebration.

In 2006, Roth replaced Howard Stern on terrestrial radio after Stern moved to satellite broadcasting. Roth's show lasted four months. That year, he also appeared on Strummin' with the Devil, a bluegrass tribute to Van Halen that reinterpreted songs from his former band.

Roth rejoined Van Halen for a North American tour in 2007, more than two decades after his departure. The lineup included Eddie and Alex Van Halen and Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen on bass. The tour played 74 arena shows in the United States and Canada and was followed by further performances and renewed work with the band.

Van Halen released A Different Kind of Truth in 2012, its first studio album with Roth since 1984. The album drew on newly developed material as well as songs connected to earlier Van Halen sessions. A live album, Tokyo Dome Live in Concert, followed in 2015, documenting a 2013 performance from the album's tour.

Roth also began The Roth Show, a video webcast that discussed music videos, tattoos, sarcasm, and other subjects. He continued touring with Van Halen through the band's North American activities in 2015.

Roth recorded a series of sessions with guitarist John 5 in 2014. Several songs from those sessions were released as singles between 2020 and 2022, including "Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill," which Roth dedicated to Eddie Van Halen, and "Lo-Rez Sunset." He later released a series of covers of Van Halen songs.

Roth was scheduled to open for KISS during the 2020 leg of the band's farewell tour, but the shows were postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he announced plans to retire from performing after a Las Vegas residency, though the residency was canceled. He performed at the M3 Rock Festival in Maryland in 2025, his first public concert in five years, and subsequently announced the Roth Tour.

Outside music, Roth has worked in painting and drawing, practiced martial arts since adolescence, and developed a long-standing interest in mountain climbing. He also co-created INK the Original with tattoo artist Ami James, a skincare line for tattooed skin that closed in 2022.