Reflecting on Van Halen’s Debut at 45
February 10, 1978. Van Halen‘s debut album drops. But I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to talk about David Lee Roth.
I mean, what’s left to say about Van Halen? It’s certified diamond, with over 10 million copies sold to-date. We still play multiple tracks from the album on ROCK 92.9 and they still stand up. It put Van Halen on the map and kept them there, through frontman changes and inner turmoil, for decades to come. Van Halen had a lasting impact on rock and roll. And their first frontman, David Lee Roth, had a lasting impact on me.
Sometime in early 2005, David Lee Roth hosted a week of radio shows for CBS Radio in Boston. I was working for a CBS station at the time: Boston’s legendary WBCN. One afternoon, my then-General Manager brought some corporate bigwig who’s name I’ve forgotten into my studio. The bigwig asked me if I’d heard any of DLR’s radio shows. I said yes. He asked me if it was the type of show I’d listen to on the regular. I told him Roth made for an amazing guest on the radio, but I didn’t think cut it as a radio host.
The following year, The David Lee Roth Show debuted on WBCN, replacing The Howard Stern Show, which had moved to satellite radio. Apparently, my feedback wasn’t taken into consideration.
Reflecting on Van Halen’s Debut at 45
I was never a huge Van Halen fan, but I’ve always respected their influence and popularity. That respect was tossed out the window by 6:15 a.m. on January 3, 2006. David Lee Roth was an unmitigated disaster on the radio. He lacked focus, his energy was too manic, and he didn’t seem to have a grasp of who his audience was (or was supposed to be). Ironically, these qualities would’ve made DLR a fine podcaster. But this was 2006. Podcast’s weren’t a thing yet. He was a morning radio host, syndicated in multiple major markets.
The show barely lasted 3 months.
I can remember sitting in the small production studio that was adjacent to the WBCN air studio on that cold January morning. My career was flashing before my eyes. I was BCN’s middays host, and I’d gone from having the greatest morning show lead-in a rock radio DJ could ever ask for to having the polar opposite. That day, and many days that followed, were spent fielding phone calls from angry, confused, distraught BCN listeners. It was bad. Then, after awhile, the phone stopped ringing. That was worse.
So sure, let’s celebrate 45 years of Van Halen. Much respect due to the band and their legacy. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to listen to a Van Halen song with David Lee Roth again and not feel a small twinge of anger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEjeHTfYkQ0