If you’ve seen the social media profiles of the Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth, you probably know that he records some unusual videos of himself dancing. Recently, he released a new video of himself singing “Panama,” one of Van Halen‘s biggest classics. However, the audio accompanying his performance is from his solo band’s version, not the original.
The song was originally released on the band’s 1984 (1984) album.
David Lee Roth releases new video singing “Panama”
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Alex Van Halen, drummer and co-founder of Van Halen, revealed that the tribute show for Eddie Van Halen didn’t happen because of David Lee Roth. According to Alex, when he suggested they find a way to acknowledge Eddie during the shows, Roth became furious and refused to participate. This is why the tribute shows for Eddie, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 65, never materialized.
“The thing that broke the camel’s back, and I can be honest about this now was I said, ‘Dave, at some point, we have to have a very overt — not a bowing — but an acknowledgment of Ed in the gig. If you look at how Queen does it, they show old footage.’ And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave fuckin’ popped a fuse.… The vitriol that came out was unbelievable”.
“I’m from the street. You talk to me like that, motherfucker, I’m gonna beat your fucking brains out. You got it?’ And I mean that. And that’s how it ended. It’s just, my God. It’s like I didn’t know him anymore. I have nothing but the utmost respect for his work ethic and all that. But, Dave, you gotta work as a community, motherfucker. It’s not you alone anymore.”
“It’s too bad on one hand, but it’s fine on the other (that it didn’t happen). Because now, in retrospect, playing the old songs is not really paying tribute to anybody. That’s just like a jukebox, in my opinion.… To find a replacement for Ed? It’s just not the same,” Alex Van Halen said.