That time David Lee Roth told me what he really thought of Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen

By Steve Newton

I did my second interview with David Lee Roth back in June of 2003, when he was touring behind his last studio album, Diamond Dave.

The previous year Roth and his replacement in Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, had joined forces for the Sam & Dave Tour, which saw them trek across the U.S. on a coheadlining jaunt.

At one point in the conversation I asked Diamond Dave if he got along with Sammy on that tour, which led to some unflattering observations about the Red Rocker.

I followed that up by asking him about Eddie Van Halen, which resulted in some rather bizarre commentary that sounded kinda funny at the time, making me chuckle, but which I still haven’t quite figured out.

Anybody know what “Stevie Wonder in turbulence” is supposed to mean?

Have a listen:

To hear the full audio of my 2003 interview with David Lee Roth–and my 1994 interview with him as well–subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with rockers since 1982.