During a recent chat with Marty5150, Billy Sheehan reflected on David Lee Roth’s role in Van Halen’s success.
“Dave, I always loved his lyrics,” the bassist explained. “And I was reviewing a couple of songs the other day for another matter.”
He stated, “And I think that was one of the things that separated out Van Halen from a lot of other bands: that they had lyrics that were deeper. And they weren’t trying to be intellectual, not that they weren’t intellectual, but they weren’t trying to be smart or clever. They were just real.”
Sheehan and DLR collaborated on Roth’s first two solo albums, ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ and ‘Skyscraper.’ In an interview with Masters of Shred last year, Sheehan said he considers Roth the greatest rock frontman ever.
The rocker revealed, “David Lee Roth, he’s a grandmaster. He really is. Working with him was getting a PhD in showbiz. He really knows the depth of it and he was the greatest rock frontman ever in my humble opinion.”
Billy added, “He gave me my break and I’m here where I am today largely in part what he did for me. So, I can never do anything but praise him for what I’ve learned from him. Quite an amazing time. He was quite a phenomenon of nature.”
Sheehan previously talked about working with Diamond Dave in a chat with Rocking With Jam Man, saying, “We had an incredible time- myself, Steve Vai, Gregg Bissonette, Brett Tuggle, our keyboard player who went on tour with us, and Dave, and I’m supremely thankful to Dave for giving me such a great break. My life would not be what it is today without him, and I appreciate that.”
Shortly after ‘Skyscraper’ came out, Sheehan parted ways with Roth’s band over musical differences. A potential reunion for the 30th anniversary of ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ in 2015 was canceled due to safety concerns, and while the band reunited in 2019, Roth did not participate.
