12 Unknown Facts About David Lee Roth

No frontman has ever been like David Lee Roth, and it’s unlikely that one will ever be. In the 1970s and 1980s, Van Halen’s wild and captivating voice made hard rock louder, more flamboyant, and far more enjoyable. One thing was for sure, whether he was snarling, yelping, or screaming his way through smashes like “Panama,” “Runnin’ with the Devil,” and “Jump,” he owned every stage he walked on.

Roth was a showman as well as a singer, kicking, flipping, and hammering it up whenever he could. He left a lasting impression with his unique blend of humor, strong voice, and unadulterated rock ‘n’ roll intensity. He remained loyal to his extravagant persona even after departing Van Halen in 1985 to pursue a solo career, demonstrating that his exuberant energy wasn’t merely a façade but rather who he truly was.

Here is an in-depth exploration of Diamond Dave’s own crazy, erratic universe.

David Lee Roth came up with the name Van Halen for the band

Most bands that use a member’s last name typically choose the lead singer’s, but Van Halen took a different route. The band was named after the guitarist Eddie and drummer Alex Van Halen, even though David Lee Roth was the frontman for the majority of their early years.

It all started back in 1974 when Roth’s band, the Red Ball Jets, lent a PA system to Eddie and Alex’s band, Mammoth. Roth eventually joined the group, and when they discovered another band already had rights to the name Mammoth, it was Roth who suggested the name, Van Halen. As he explained on The Howard Stern Show, he thought the name had longevity, mystery, and a little shadow—“You’re not sure what a Van Halen is. It could be a place, or a person.” Roth didn’t think his last name would work—he believed “single syllables never swing.”

Sammy Hagar’s Connection to Van Halen

When David Lee Roth left in 1985, Sammy Hagar stepped in as Van Halen’s new frontman, bringing his own style and sound to the band. Interestingly, both Roth and Hagar had a shared history before joining Van Halen. In the 1970s, Hagar fronted the hard rock band Montrose, which Eddie Van Halen and Roth admired so much that they covered some of Montrose’s songs in Van Halen’s early shows.

Before that, during the recording of their first album in 1977, producer Ted Templeman had doubts about Roth’s vocal performance. As he wrote in Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer’s Life in Music, some of Roth’s takes “weren’t acceptable,” and there were moments when they even considered replacing him with Hagar.

David Lee Roth’s Wild Insurance Claim

Known for guiding Van Halen through some of the most tumultuous and crazy rock moments in history, David Lee Roth once had a quite unique body part insured. The group’s antics were nearly as well-known as their songs. “I slept with every pretty girl with two legs in her pants,” Roth admitted, describing his notorious way of life.

Roth sort of took the concept of getting his body insured seriously amid the mayhem. Roth famously joked, “What about Little Elvis? We’re going to be using him a lot, thank you very much.” The band did insure Eddie Van Halen’s fingers and Alex Van Halen’s elbows for their instrumental duties, but his Little Elvis was unexpectedly insured, confirming one of rock’s most bizarre rumors.

The Brown M&Ms Rule: A Thoughtful Trick

For decades, an odd legend followed Van Halen: the band wouldn’t perform if their backstage bowl of M&Ms had any brown ones in it. It turns out, this was actually true, but with a very thoughtful reason behind it. David Lee Roth, aware that local crews might not be fully experienced with Van Halen’s elaborate shows, cleverly added the no-brown-M&Ms clause to the band’s 1982 concert rider. Roth explained, “If I saw brown M&Ms in the backstage bowl, it guaranteed the promoter had not read the contract rider.” This meant the crew likely missed other crucial details, like ensuring the arena floor could handle the band’s gear. In one famous case in Pueblo, Colorado, the mistake led to $80,000 in damage!

Synths Push David Lee Roth Out of Van Halen

Van Halen’s 1984 album, 1984, was a massive hit and their best-selling LP. But it also marked the beginning of the end for the band. Up until then, they were known for their guitar-driven hard rock, but in 1984 introduced synthesizers—thanks to Eddie Van Halen, who was a piano prodigy as a child. Tracks like the title song and their No. 1 hit “Jump” featured synths prominently. However, this musical shift didn’t sit well with lead singer David Lee Roth. As Eddie explained, “Dave said that I was a guitar hero and I shouldn’t be playing keyboards.” The tension over the creative direction eventually led to Roth’s departure from the band in 1985.

David Lee Roth Almost Became a Movie Star

In the early ’80s, David Lee Roth wasn’t just Van Halen’s frontman—he was the star, thanks to his infectious personality and comedic charm in music videos, interviews, and live performances. But before leaving the band in 1985, Roth had bigger dreams and acting caught his eye. When he went solo, his focus shifted to Hollywood rather than music. CBS Films even signed on to produce his movie Crazy from the Heat, based on his EP of the same name. Roth planned to star as a rock star named David Lee Roth, getting into wacky adventures on a fictional island. “The jeep breaks down in cannibal country, but we escape and are rescued by Madame Dugay,” Roth wrote in his memoir. Sadly, CBS Films shut down before production started, but Roth still managed to sue for his directing fee.

David Lee Roth’s Epic Memoir Journey

David Lee Roth is never short on stories, so when it came time to write his memoir, Crazy from the Heat, he went all in. Instead of relying on a ghostwriter, Roth hired a Princeton grad student to follow him around, recording everything he said for over 100 hours. The result? A whopping 1,200 pages of material that Roth then handed over to editor Paul Scanlon, who worked hard to condense it down to a more manageable 359 pages. The book, released in 1997, even hit the New York Times bestseller list. A standout moment? Roth shared never-before-seen poems, including one about his love for his Maserati, which he called “a Zen poem, on account of it doesn’t rhyme.”

Roth’s Unexpected Career Shift

After his last studio album in 2003, David Lee Roth stepped away from music for a bit and took on a completely new role: emergency medical technician (EMT). In 2004, he trained to become a certified EMT in New York City. “It’s a part of my family: Be of value; have a job,” Roth told Vogue. During his time working in Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx, he responded to hundreds of emergencies, without anyone recognizing him. Roth even used a defibrillator to save a man during a heart attack while still in training. He shared that his sense of humor became an essential tool: “That is your only life preserver that you can give someone who thinks they’re gonna die.”

David Lee Roth’s Radio Show Struggled to Take Off

In 2005, David Lee Roth landed his own radio show after Howard Stern’s big move to Sirius Satellite Radio. Roth’s show, The David Lee Roth Show, aired in January 2006 with a $4 million contract. However, it quickly hit a rough patch. Just a few months later, CBS Radio had to step in, pushing for format changes to keep the show afloat. Despite his efforts, Roth was let go in April 2006 after only three months. “I was booted, tossed, and it’s going to cost somebody,” he said during his final broadcast. According to CBS executive Rob Barnett, Roth’s failure to take advice played a key role in the show’s quick demise.

His Love for Tattoos

David Lee Roth is no stranger to rock ‘n’ roll tattoos, but his passion for ink came later in life. “I got my first tattoo 40 years ago, a little seahorse on my ankle,” Roth told Vogue in 2018. He waited until he was 60 to go all in, spending 300 hours over two years getting tattoos that reflected his personal vision. “It’s my design: kabuki faces, the original showbiz, rendered Edo style — it looks like a woodblock print,” he shared. Roth also turned his tattoo obsession into a business, launching Ink The Original with tattoo pro Ami James, selling skincare products for tattooed skin. Unfortunately, the company shut down in 2022.

David Lee Roth as a Painter and Artist

David Lee Roth might be best known for his wild rock star antics, but there’s another side to him — he’s also a painter. While stuck at home in Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Roth embraced his long-time love of art. “My hand has always been in wardrobe, background sets, stage sets, album covers, and video direction. This is part of it,” he told The New York Times. His art started with humorous drawings and comics about the pandemic, before evolving into more abstract pieces and portraits of himself and frogs. Roth has created over 100 works, which he shares on his personal website for all to enjoy.

David Lee Roth’s Unexpected Retirement from Touring

David Lee Roth’s time as a touring rock star came to an end after Van Halen’s final tour in 2015. Following Eddie Van Halen’s death in 2020, the band ceased to exist, and Roth’s solo career hasn’t found its way back to the stage either. In 2020, Roth was set to open for KISS on their North American tour, but the pandemic led to postponements. By 2021, KISS had moved on without him. “He was the ultimate frontman,” said Gene Simmons, “and then, I don’t know what happened to him.” In response, Roth posted on Instagram, “Roth to Simmons” with a middle finger emoji. His planned Las Vegas residency was also canceled, marking an end to his live performances.