Wolfgang Van Halen Reveals He Invited David Lee Roth to Jam with Dad Eddie After His Band Departure
Wolfgang Van Halen is recalling the time he called up David Lee Roth to play for Van Halen again.
During Wolfgang’s episode of Behind the Music on Paramount+, which dropped Thursday, May 2, the Mammoth WVH frontman details how he got his start playing with his father Eddie Van Halen’s band.
“It was 2006 and nothing was going on. The 2004 tour happened and that was a reunion so to speak with that singer [David Lee Roth]. He went on to do his stuff. Mike [Michael Anthony] had done stuff with him after that and I know that really bummed out Al [Alex Van Halen],” Wolfgang, 33, says.
He continues, “Al and Dad were always jamming no matter what. It wasn’t until I was hanging out that he was like, ‘Hey Wolf pick up a bass.'”
Related: Valerie Bertinelli Gets Honest About ‘Drugs, Alcohol, Infidelity’ with Eddie Van Halen, Says He Was ‘Not a Soulmate’
Alex then appears for a sit down interview and says that it was all for fun — until he realized the kind of talent that Wolfgang brought to the table.
“I was fun. It was clearly just a fun thing for the three of us. We did it for a while — to the point where it was like oh s—,” Wolfgang says. “There’s something here. We were connected on a new level other than just family. We were rhythmically intwined.”
“I wrote out an exact wording of what I should say so I could call David Lee Roth and ask if he wanted to come over and jam. I remember really specifically, my dad made me finish it with ‘this ain’t no joke.'”
“I basically was like, ‘Hi. This is Wolfgang Van Halen and I’ve been jamming with my uncle and my father at 5150 and we’d have a lot of fun if you came and joined us. This ain’t no joke,” he adds.
At the time, Wolfgang was “really excited” and there was no “negativity in my mind at all.”
“It was like, ‘Oh I’m playing with my family and this is going to be really exciting. Everything’s going to be great and nothing bad is ever going to happen,'” he says with a laugh. “Shows you how young I was.”
This revelation comes after Roth posted a YouTube video in which he ranted about and mocked Wolfgang in January. The “Distance” singer responded to his comments during a March interview on Atlanta radio show The Morning X.
“I’m honored [Roth] even thinks about me as much as he seems to,” Wolfgang, who went on to play with Van Halen for 14 years.
“I seem to have been born into this Van Halen drama that has come way before me,” he added. “And now that my dad isn’t here to be a target, I guess he went to the next best thing.”
On Friday, Aug. 16, the Canadian singer, 56, shared an Instagram post with a behind-the-scenes look at the prep work that went into her July 26 performance of “Hymne A L’Amour” by French singer Édith Piaf onstage at the base of the Eiffel Tower.
The performance marked a surprise return and her first performance since she announced her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis in December 2022.
In the clip, the “Power of Love” singer included footage of herself in front of a hotel being greeted by her adoring fans, some of whom arrived with balloons for the global superstar.
Related: Paris Isn’t the First Time Céline Dion Performed at an Olympics Opening Ceremony
Next, the clip shows her changing into her dazzling Olympics Opening Ceremony dress, which took Dior more than 1,000 hours to create. The silver design featured around 1,640 feet of beaded fringing.
Dion also showed footage of herself in the hair and makeup chair, sitting in front of a bright vanity with a smokey eye for her glam.
The “I’m Alive” singer showed her flexibility with pre-show stretches.
After her accessories were added, it was time for her to hit the stage.
Related: Céline Dion Shares Raw Video of Stiff-Person Syndrome Crisis in Never-Seen Footage from New Documentary
As Dion exited her dressing room, she acknowledged her team along the way with fist bumps before getting to René-Charles, 23, who was waiting for her at the base of the stage riser.
Her oldest, who she shared with her late husband René Angélil, was visibly shaken in the clip as he watched his mother’s epic return to the stage.
Leave a Reply