Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when they disbanded in 2020.

Roth's parents arranged for him to receive treatment with a psychiatrist for three years because he was prone to daily bouts of hyperactivity, dubbed "monkey time".

[12] In his late teens, Roth was singing solo, as well as with an R&B-influenced rock band named the Red Ball Jets.

Roth is often credited with promoting Van Halen's image, described by David Fricke in Rolling Stone as "a nonstop booze-and-babes party train."

Roth's sexy, macho but poetic, often jovial lyrics worked in perfect harmony with the hard rock guitar sounds composed by Eddie Van Halen; a sound-style that helped the band rise to the top of the Billboard pop chart in 1984, with their album 1984, their first and only #1 LP.

Looking back at Roth's tenure, Fricke dubbed Van Halen as "the monster rock action squad that ruled the charts and the airwaves for seven years.

"[15] "I remember hearing about this new band, Van Halen with David Lee Roth," recalled Aerosmith front-man Steven Tyler.

"[16] Despite the band's seven-year financial and artistic success, a creative rift developed between Roth and Eddie Van Halen early on.

Roth was interested in popularity via original or even cover songs about partying, dancing, women and sex, along the lines of Aerosmith, AC/DC or even disco, while Eddie wanted darker, deeper tunes in minor keys, like those on their 4th LP Fair Warning.

They had been artistic foils on the first three albums, but their fifth LP, Diver Down, saw a disgruntled Edward "sacrificing" his original synthesizer and guitar riffs to five cover songs, three of which became singles: "Dancing in the Street", "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" and "(Oh) Pretty Woman".

Their sixth and final album together until 2006, 1984, was a critical and commercial success and continued the band's move toward mainstream pop music.

In early 1985, while still a member of Van Halen, Roth released Crazy from the Heat, an eclectic solo EP of off-beat pop standards.

In 2012, Cherone confirmed the longtime rumor that he had already been chosen long before the MTV incident, suggesting that Van Halen used Roth to create public interest in the hits collection.

[21][failed verification] Roth and his band toured arenas extensively in support of Eat 'Em and Smile before returning to the studio in 1987 to record a follow-up album.

Roth hired 19-year-old guitar virtuoso Jason Becker to replace Vai prior to recording his third solo LP, A Little Ain't Enough in 1991.

Before starting a support tour for A Little Ain't Enough, Becker was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, rendering him unable to perform onstage.

In April 1993, Roth was arrested in New York City's Washington Square Park for buying what he described as "$10 worth of Jamaican bunk reefer" from an undercover police officer.

In 1995, Roth returned with an adult lounge act, performing largely in Las Vegas casinos, with a brass band that featured Nile Rodgers, Edgar Winter, and members of the Miami Sound Machine.

[1] The 359-page book was a selected collection of 1,200 pages of monologs, which were recorded and transcribed by a Princeton University graduate who followed Roth for almost a year.

[30] Roth's EMT training was largely handled by Linda Reissman, who detailed this on an episode of The DLR Cast podcast.

[citation needed] In 2003, Roth released an album called Diamond Dave, which included one original John 5 collaboration among numerous cover songs.

In 2006, Roth covered two Van Halen songs for an album titled Strummin' with the Devil, a tribute to his old band in bluegrass style.

On Roth's final day, April 21, 2006, he performed the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" for Stern and discussed an impending lawsuit against CBS.

Roth subsequently did not attend the induction, leaving only Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar to represent Van Halen.

Roth wanted to perform "Jump", the band's highest-charting song, but Velvet Revolver would only agree to play "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" or "You Really Got Me".

When it was finally agreed upon that Paul Shaffer would perform "Jump", Roth claimed there was no longer enough time to rehearse and opted not to attend the ceremony.

That same month, the band made its first foray into American television by appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, announcing a new tour in the process.

[41] In 2019 Roth announced a nine-date solo residency at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino House of Blues in 2020, with shows scheduled for January 8, 10 and 11 and March 18, 20, 21, 25, 27 and 28.

"[44] In October 2020, Roth paid tribute to his late bandmate Eddie Van Halen by sharing his track "Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill," from the 2014 sessions.

[47] Following his retirement from performing, and the five original singles, Roth proceeded to release a series of covers of Van Halen songs throughout the second half of 2022.