NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: David Lee Roth speaks onstage during the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on September 12, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS)Photo: Theo Wargo / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
David Lee Roth is at it again - viciously attacking and mocking Wolfgang Van Halen on his YouTube channel (check out the latest anti-Wolf tirade HERE - WARNING: OBSCENITY. NSFW).
Listen - I grew up idolizing Van Halen and David Lee Roth. And many times over the decades I found Diamond Dave's brazenness, cockiness, verbal rollercoasters, and, yes, sometimes even his jackass-like, outlandish rock star behavior entertaining, funny, etc. He has always been ever the showman - a frontman on a stadium stage and a frontman on the stage of life. He's always "on." I get it. Definitely one-of-a-kind. And what he may have lacked vocally as the lead singer of a legendry rock band, no rock frontman could match his onstage showmanship in his prime.
BUT...
Roth's recent, very public attacks on Wolfgang Van Halen - the beloved son of Dave's former bandmate, the late rock/guitar god Eddie Van Halen - leave me with just one thing to say to Dave - "STFU".
Your vitriolic attacks against Wolfgang are not funny, nor clever, nor necessary. Frankly, they're coming off as desperate, bitter and pathetic: an aging, out-of-touch rock star well past his prime who has some kind of bizarre axe to grind against the next generation of music. In this case, a young musician who has managed the Herculean task of stepping out from under his iconic father's GIGANTIC shadow and who is making a nice name for himself on the back of true, varied musical ability. And, despite what you may view as nepotism given his very famous lineage, he's earning his own place in music based on hard work, ambition, and innovation. No one - not even the great Eddie Van Halen - gets to true levels of excellence without practicing until their fingers bleed. Give the kid some credit.
This is all a long-winded way of saying, "Dave, knock it off with the "Wolfgang sucks" sh*t". You had your time - a very long time - in the sun. And it was glorious for me and for rock fans everywhere. Thank you for your critical role in what will always be my favorite music in the world: the music of the great Van Halen. But it's time to step aside. To let go of the grudges, the resentment, the jealousy, the ego. Whatever is driving this Wolfgang hate, you need to let it go. I know, you had major problems with Eddie, with Alex, etc. But that's water under the bridge.
Ultimately, here's why you should stop brutally insulting Wolfgang and instead apologize to him and make peace:
He's Eddie Van Halen's son, who Eddie loved more than life itself. Please respect that. Please at least have some respect for the dead. If for no other reason than the fact that - and let's be honest: while you are a very talented guy and while Alex, Mike, Sammy, hell, even Gary were all extremely gifted, highly-talented musicians - it was Eddie that elevated every incarnation of Van Halen from the ranks of the "really good" or the "excellent" to the "otherworldy" - in my opinion, the greatest rock band of all time. Without Eddie, who knows? Maybe you would still have been a huge rock icon in a popular '70's/'80's band. Or maybe you would've been another Kip Winger. Who knows?
But Eddie is truly the one who helped make you MEGA-successful, mega-rich and famous, and who put you in a position to bed a MEGA-amount of gorgeous groupies. And, without Edward VH, I bet you wouldn't have anywhere near 89k subscribers of your YouTube channel.
In closing, should you continue your campaign of undue ridicule against Wolfie, well, dare I say it?...
"Come on, Dave. Gimme' a break."
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