During a recent interview with Forbes, Van Halen singer David Lee Roth talked about the differences between Van Halen and other bands, or musicians.
In the conversation, he explained the reason why Van Halen have two diamond albums and Elvis [Presley] doesn’t. Here’s the full statement:
“When I was doing rock and roll and learning stagecraft, we were imitating all the European acts, who were schooled from old British music hall and Vaudeville. All those Odeons and theaters were still open when I did my first tours. And all the old guys and everything, Alfred Lagarde in Holland, and he would comment and stuff. And he would comment, he was a critic as well as a supporter.
Old school, so that was very much in our DNA. I came from classic training, which was [George] Gershwin, [Leonard] Bernstein, classical music like this. That edge is in VAN HALEN music.
That dark minor key tone is in everything we ever made and that’s why we have two diamond albums [‘Van Halen’ and ‘1984’]. Elvis [Presley] doesn’t have two. He has one and it was Christmas tunes and he didn’t write them.
That darkness, that little shot of sea salt in the caramel is what makes it work, the John Lennon note. Not the [Paul] McCartney note. The reason I’m so funny is that I ain’t even vaguely happy. And that’s in your music all the time, from midrange down to here.”
Interviewer asked:
“So how does that come across in your performance?”
Roth responded:
“Over a period of time, it transcends what you look like, unless you were David unless you were Ziggy Stardust cause you had that specific haircut. But what we bring is classic. I don’t go perform, I don’t present.
The Van Halen’s and I come from a background where you had to win or you didn’t eat. You had to win your seat in the orchestra starting in sixth grade or you weren’t in the orchestra. “