Age, Biography, and Wiki
David Lee Roth was born on October 10, 1954, making him 70 years old as of 2025. He is an American rock singer, songwriter, radio DJ, and author, best known for his energetic performances and distinctive vocal style as the original lead singer of Van Halen. His flamboyant stage presence and innovative music have made him a legend in the rock world.
| Occupation | Rock Singer |
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| Date of Birth | 10 October 1954 |
| Age | 70 Years |
| Birth Place | Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Libra |
| Country | India |
Height, Weight & Measurements
While specific details about his height and weight are not widely listed, David Lee Roth is known for his energetic and charismatic stage presence, which has been a hallmark of his career.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Information about David Lee Roth's current relationship status is not readily available. He has kept his personal life relatively private over the years.
In his teens, the family relocated to Pasadena, California. David attended The Webb Schools in Claremont, California, and John Muir High School in Pasadena. 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". Roth also attended a horse ranch for troubled teens to build a sense of responsibility. While attending Pasadena City College, he met the Van Halen brothers, Eddie and Alex. During this period, Roth worked as a hospital orderly.
In 2006, Roth was tapped to replace his friend Howard Stern on terrestrial radio, following Stern's departure from terrestrial to Sirius Satellite Radio. Roth's show lasted for four months and ended in a lawsuit. During the course of the show, Roth maintained a relationship with Howard 100 News reporter Steve Langford. Roth and Langford met frequently after shows, with Langford bringing tape back to Stern of Roth's complaints towards WXRK's management. Issues included Roth's firing, the missing podcast, and his show being cut off early. 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.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, David Lee Roth's net worth is estimated at $60 million, primarily due to his successful career with Van Halen, solo music endeavors, touring, merchandise sales, and various business ventures. His earnings come from decades of performing, recording, and entrepreneurial activities.
Performing original and cover songs, Van Halen eventually gained success in the Pasadena, West Hollywood, and Los Angeles areas, becoming a regular feature on Sunset Strip clubs, such as Gazzarri's, Myron's, Whisky a Go Go, and the Starwood Club. In 1976, Gene Simmons took note of the band (in particular Eddie Van Halen, whom Simmons hoped to recruit for his own band, Kiss) and assisted them in producing a 10-track demo tape, featuring songs that would be included on their first two LPs and their 1984 album. The tape, however, did not attract much interest from major record labels. In early 1977, however, during their four-month stint at The Starwood, Warner Bros executive Mo Ostin and producer Ted Templeman signed them to an inauspicious two-album contract, one that heavily favored Warner Bros., offering but a .70 per unit royalty. Manager Noel Monk, then an equal partner in band revenue, renegotiated this rate for double in 1979.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Van Halen Career: Roth co-founded Van Halen in 1974 and played a pivotal role in the band's success, with hits like "Jump," "Panama," and "Hot for Teacher." Their debut album in 1978 launched them to stardom.
- Solo Career: After leaving Van Halen, Roth pursued a successful solo career, releasing albums like Crazy from the Heat and Eat 'Em and Smile, which achieved significant commercial success.
- Business Ventures: Roth has ventured into various businesses, including a tattoo-focused skincare line and other entrepreneurial endeavors.
- Recent Activities: In 2025, Roth has been performing live, including headlining shows, and has released a retrospective album that charted well in the U.K..
David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. 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. He has also had a successful solo career, releasing numerous RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum albums. After more than two decades apart, Roth re-joined Van Halen in 2006 for a North American tour that became the highest-grossing in the band's history, and one of the highest-grossing of that year. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen.
Van Halen recorded four more platinum-selling albums over the next five years, often within 12 to 14 days and immediately returning to the road to tour. 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." Yet despite this 'wildman' image, Roth was key to the band's success not just as a high kicking, tight pantsed, Capezio-wearing singer and lyricist, but as the de facto chairman of the board in band decisions of business, marketing and publicity, according to Monk. 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." "I remember hearing about this new band, Van Halen with David Lee Roth," recalled Aerosmith front-man Steven Tyler. "'Who does this fucking guy think he is? He's standing in my limelight.' I'd fucked myself up royally."
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. Some months before Roth's departure, Noel Monk, their manager of seven years was fired suddenly by the Van Halen brothers; he speculated that (Roth) was testing the waters for a potential separate, solo career.
In June 1996, Roth briefly reunited with Van Halen, to great public fanfare. He recorded two new songs for Van Halen's Best Of – Volume I, "Can't Get This Stuff No More" and "Me Wise Magic". After an infamous appearance on September 5, 1996, at the MTV Video Music Awards during which Roth and Eddie Van Halen reportedly threatened each other, Roth was passed over for Van Halen's vocalist job in favor of Gary Cherone. 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. "Me Wise Magic", Van Halen's display of psychedelia-influenced rock with Roth on vocals, became a No. 1 Billboard Mainstream Rock hit in 1996.
In 2002, The "Song for Song: The Heavyweight Champions of Rock and Roll Tour" paired Roth with his 'nemesis' Sammy Hagar, and it proceeded to revive the career of Roth. Despite the monetary success and publicity generated by the tour, Roth's future with Van Halen seemed uncertain. "Yankee Rose" appeared in the 2002 videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, playing on rock station V-Rock, while generally, Roth became more visible than he had been in years, such as appearing on commercials for MTV with Justin Timberlake. In 2003, Roth released an album called Diamond Dave, which included one original John 5 collaboration among numerous cover songs.
In 2018, Roth and tattoo artist Ami James created INK the Original, which was a line of skincare products designed to protect tattooed skin. Roth spent more than 300 hours getting tattooed in Japan between 2013 and 2014, and noticed the body art market was expanding. After investing more than $7,000,000 in the company, and countless hours, the business closed in March 2022 for reasons not stated.
Social Network
David Lee Roth is active on various social media platforms, though specific details about his followers or engagement are not widely reported. His presence is more focused on his official website and fan engagement through live performances.
In his late teens, Roth was singing solo, as well as with an R&B-influenced rock band named the Red Ball Jets. Roth says the name was in reference to the red dye used in food at that time, including red candy balls, which would exacerbate his hyperactivity and lead to "monkey hour" at the family home. (Red Ball Jets was also the name of a brand of sneakers popular from 1951 to 1971.) Another Los Angeles band, Mammoth (featuring Alex Van Halen on drums and Eddie Van Halen singing and playing lead guitar), occasionally rented the Red Ball Jets' PA system for $10/night. After a couple of failed auditions, Roth joined Mammoth as lead singer. In 1974, Mammoth officially changed its name to Van Halen. According to Roth, this was his brainchild. He felt it was a moniker that offered long-term identity, aesthetic, and marketing advantages, like Santana.
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". In 1983, Eddie designed and constructed a state-of-the-art recording studio in his home with the band's recording engineer, Donn Landee. This led to creative conflict, as it allowed Ed to dominate the recording process without as much input from Roth. Furthermore, he began to experiment in an almost New Wave direction with keyboards and synthesizers, while Roth preferred guitar-heavy hard rock. 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 January 1988, Roth released Skyscraper, a more experimental LP featuring the hit single "Just Like Paradise". Co-produced by Roth and Steve Vai under the working title "Cliffhanger", Skyscraper peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard album chart and ultimately sold two million copies in the US. Soon after Skyscraper's release, Sheehan left Roth's band due to musical differences. He was replaced in time for the album's support tour with bassist Matt Bissonette (drummer Gregg Bissonette's brother). The international Skyscraper Tour arena was a major production featuring, at different points during each concert, Roth surfing above the audience on a surfboard suspended from an arena's rafters, and lowered into the center of each arena in a descending boxing ring. Both parts of the stage show were featured in the "Just Like Paradise" music video. The show also featured the band in a calypso segment playing Caribbean steel drums and in an unplugged segment where the band performed acoustic covers of old rock and roll songs. Following the tour for Skyscraper, Vai left Roth's band to pursue a solo career and record and tour with Whitesnake.
In 1998, Roth released DLR Band, another album of original material. The album featured a popular song, "Slam Dunk", which, like a majority of the album, was co-written by rising guitarist and longtime Roth fan, John 5. The album was considered a return to form for Roth by critics. In 1999, Roth contacted the Songs of Love Foundation asking if he would be able to sing a song for an ailing child. He went on to record a "Song of Love" for 9-year-old Ashley Abernathy who was battling leukemia, which was released publicly many years later. In the late 1990s, Roth became an emergency medical technician (EMT) in New York City, going on over 200 ambulance rides. Roth's EMT training was largely handled by Linda Reissman, who detailed this on an episode of The DLR Cast podcast.
In 2004, Roth appeared on the TV series The Sopranos as a poker-playing guest of Tony Soprano. Regarding this, Roth was quoted on his website as saying, "Mom says I'm going to look like Lee Marvin in 10 years whether I'm in movies or not, so I might as well get after it!" On July 4, 2004, Roth performed with the world-renowned Boston Pops Orchestra at Boston's annual Pops Goes the Fourth celebration. The performance was witnessed by over 100,000 people live in Boston, and by millions more on US television. 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. The album topped out at 66 on the U.S. Billboard country charts.
On August 13, 2007, six months after the initial reunion tour was postponed, it was finally confirmed by Van Halen with Roth at a press conference in Los Angeles that they would start the tour again in September 2007. At that conference, Eddie Van Halen stated that he and Roth were "like brothers" now. Calling Van Halen a "real band", both Van Halen and Roth spoke of the possibility of further worldwide touring and a new album in mind for the future.
Education
While detailed information about his early education is not widely available, David Lee Roth has mentioned his interest in the arts and music from an early age. His career has been marked by continuous innovation and reinvention.
In conclusion, David Lee Roth's enduring legacy in rock music, combined with his diverse career and business ventures, solidifies his position as one of the most iconic figures in the industry.
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. It also featured several exotic dancers, who in Roth's words were "so sweet, I bet they shit sugar!" In 1997, Roth wrote a memoir, Crazy from the Heat. The 359-page book was a selected collection of 1,200 pages of monologues, which were recorded and transcribed by a Princeton University graduate who followed Roth for almost a year. Henry Rollins is said to have worked on the memoir.
