TODAY'S CELEBRITY BIRTHDAY... DAVID LEE ROTH

TODAY'S CELEBRITY BIRTHDAY... DAVID LEE ROTH

American singer-songwriter David Lee Roth, also known as Diamond Dave, was born 70 years ago in Bloomington, Indiana, never married and has a daughter.  He is best known as the wild, vigorous frontman and lead singer of the rock band ‘Van Halen’.

As a kid, David attended a private school, then went to secondary school and finished his studies in a public community college, where he met brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen.  He showed interest in radio and film from an early age and stated that his first music idol was Al Jolson.

When he was about 18 years old, Roth joined a rock/R& B influenced band named ‘Red Ball Jets’, sang with them but also performed as a solo artist.  Another band called ‘Mammoth’ sometimes hired Roth’s group public address system, and eventually David joined this band after doing a few auditions and failing.  ‘Mammoth’ changed its name to ‘Van Halen’ in 1974 and started performing original and cover tracks in several night clubs.

After signing a two-album contract, ‘Van Halen’ released their debut album in 1978 which was very successful and rendered the band famous, so much so that it is considered as one of the greatest debut albums in the history of rock music.  The band then embarked on a 1-year tour, supporting other groups like ‘Journey’ and ‘Black Sabbath’.

In 1985, David left the band due to some conflicts with Eddie Van Halen and continued as a solo artist.  However, when he was still a member of the band, he released an EP called ‘Crazy from the Heat’, which reached 15th place on the US charts.  That same year, Roth also released 3 singles named ‘California Girls’ which reached number 3 on the US Rock chart, ‘Easy Streets’ and ‘Just a Gigolo/I ain’t got nobody’.  He reunited twice more with ‘Van Halen’: in 1996 and 10 years later in 2006 until 2020 when the group disbanded.

As a solo artist, David had 6 studio and 2 compilation albums and 31 singles, with a US number one hit ‘Just Like Paradise’ in 1987.  As with ‘Van Halen’, he was part of the 1st to the 5th album, as well the band’s 12th and final studio album in 2012.  Together they had the number one hit ‘Jump’ in 1983.

 

*Image: no infringement intended.  Source: rottentomatoes.com

 

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