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David Lee Roth Shares Not-So-Nice Wolfgang Van Halen Story

David Lee Roth has a knack for adding color to any given story, so take this tale about Wolfgang Van Halen however you choose. Roth shared a new clip to…

Wolfgang Van Halen (L) and singer David Lee Roth of Van Halen perform at their dress rehearsal for family and friends at the Forum on February 8, 2012 in Inglewood, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

David Lee Roth has a knack for adding color to any given story, so take this tale about Wolfgang Van Halen however you choose.

Roth shared a new clip to his YouTube channel titled "This Crazy Kid." Once you get through DLR's interview with "Jesus Christ" (no, not kidding), he then talks about two incidents involving Wolfgang from Van Halen's final tour.

Roth starts this story by referring to Wolfgang as "The f---in' kid." (Note: Wolfgang was about 24 in Roth's story.) Diamond Dave accused Wolfgang of complaining throughout the tour that he wasn't paying enough attention to him on stage. DLR refutes that and says he was giving Wolfgang " ... the best, everything I've got in front of 20-30,000 people at a clip."

RELATED: Wolfgang Van Halen and His Strange David Lee Roth Story About Making Van Halen's Final LP

Roth then alleges that at a tour stop in New York, Wolfgang had security kick out two women who were Diamond Dave's guests. However, Roth claims these two women also work at the accounting firm that represents Van Halen. He then accuses Wolfgang of doing this as a way of "teaching me a lesson." According to Roth, these women had the paychecks of the road crew on them. When he found that out, Roth said he laughed so hard he spilled his Snapple.

Cut to the final shows of this tour, which are hometown gigs at the legendary Hollywood Bowl. Roth alleges Wolfgang pulled the same move and had a guest of his removed from the venue.

"Wolfie Van Halen's going to teach me a less by throwing out what he thinks is my girlfriend, but guess what? Not only is she an accountant again, and not only is she carrying the paychecks for 82 of us on the road crew, but she's carrying cash bonuses for everybody there ... and that's how I remember my last show with Eddie Van Halen."

David Lee Roth is one of rock's greatest frontman and, overall, one of music's most unique characters.

When he's on stage, he's the ultimate showman. When he's off stage and talking with the press, he walks a line between brilliant and insane. One minute, he takes off on a stream of consciousness that convinces you he's not all there. Then he'll throw out a surprising one-liner that'll make you think, "Holy s---...Diamond Dave's has been smarter than all of us this whole time."

Roth will often release his "stream of consciousness" moments on YouTube nowadays. Back in February, he released a clip about his music video for "California Girls." Roth, of course, released his cover of the Beach Boys classic in 1985. The cover was featured on the EP Crazy from the Heat. That EP title would be recycled by Roth as the title of his 1997 autobiography.

Roth reflected in the video, "On a personal note: I feel fairly confident saying that these were some of the best times in my life, not the times on stage that my dad most envied about me. These were probably the moments everyone else's dad envied most about my life, and looking back now, even I envy me."

It's comments like that that set DLR apart from most rock figures, both past and present. During his heyday, Roth was one of rock's biggest stars because he was fronting one of the biggest bands in the world. Plus, not enough can be said about his stage presence. How could you not love those high kicks and toe touches?! Even today, he's often more interesting than most "current" lead singers in rock. Then again, who else could really replicate his unique brand of madness?

In honor of years of zaniness, let's wish a happy birthday to the one, the only David Lee Roth by looking back at these ten quotes attributed to him.

On excessive pride...

GettyImages-140289880-2-scaled-e1633722177614.jpgJamie McCarthy/Getty Images

"I'm not conceited. Conceit is a fault, and I have no faults."


On the importance of appearance...

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"If all the world's a stage, I want better lighting!"


On making a lasting impression...

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"It's not whether you win or lose, it's how good you looked doing it!"


On the critics...

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"The reason the critics all like Elvis Costello better than me is because they all look like Elvis Costello."


On how music and love share similarities...

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"Music is like girlfriends to me; I'm continually astonished by the choices other people make."


On fitness...

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"I used to jog, but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass"


On money and happiness...

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"Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it."


On life's greatest challenges...

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"I think the two most difficult things to deal with in life are failure and success."


On vices...

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"We've all got our self-destructive bad habits. The trick is to find four or five you personally like the best and just do those all the time."


On sex...

GettyImages-1210467056-1-scaled-e1633722728625.jpgKevin Winter/Getty Images

"It's not who wants to sleep with you; It's who wants to sleep with you again."

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights