Roth vs Hagar, The Latest Round
Certainly by now you’ve heard about the mini war of words between Van Halen vocalists David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar.
And a key word that comes up in the back and forth between the two singers is ‘credibility’, and who has more of it when it comes to being Van Halen’s frontman.
David Lee Roth said “Well, there’s a credibility issue there. Good, bad or in the middle, you know Roth means it; the other guy doesn’t.”
The other guy, of course, is Hagar.
David Lee Roth wants to talk about credibility?? David Lee Roth wants to talk about meaning it?? That’s pretty funny coming from a guy who could easily sell ice to Eskimos, then get them to buy more ice they don’t really need.
If you want to talk about credibility, then go back to a 1978 festival gig in Anaheim Stadium. Fans will recall four long-haired figures who parachuted into the stadium. Meanwhile, the four members of Van Halen - largely unkown at the time, dressed in parachute outfits, and hell-bent on making a splash - were huddled in a van, and took the stage shortly thereafter.
Go ahead and check out any old Youtube live footage of Van Halen in the early days and witness Roth prancing around, getting his aerobic workout in, while appearing to be completely drunk, forgetting the words, and just looking lost when it comes to the song being played.
Bassist Michael Anthony and guitar whiz Eddie Van Halen do more actual singing in concert than Roth, who is content to prance around, scream a few “Whaaaaas” or “Ooohhhs” and hold his mic stand in the air. Granted he does stumble through most of the verses.
But wait! Apparently the whole Roth being wasted on Jack Daniels and his now-famous “I forgot the fucking words” during concerts was all part of his shtick. It was all part of his attempt to gain – wait for it – credibility from the band's party-hardy fans. Wow.
So wasn’t that the real David Lee Roth? So much for his credibility, then. How can he be credible when people aren’t even seeing the real Roth? Which begs the question: Who is the real Roth?
He clearly doesn’t care about credibility. Roth finds credibility in his bank account and ripping off Van Halen fans who spend crazy amounts of money to watch him prance around and try - try - to sing on stage. Naturally they’re not doing any Van Hagar songs on this latest tour. Roth doesn’t have the ability to sing them and doesn’t want to, which is cool.
Personally, I’d spend my money on seeing Van Halen with Hagar at the helm. At least fans can be pretty sure Hagar means it when he’s up on stage.
