Rock Flashback: David Lee Roth Goes Solo, 1985

David Lee Roth (L) and Eddie Van Halen share the love in 2007. (Getty Images/Michael Buckner)

Back in the day, I was no fan of Van Halen. While I recognized Eddie Van Halen‘s prowess on guitar, I also considered David Lee Roth the luckiest man on Earth to have joined up with a guy who had talent enough for both of them. So when Roth released his first solo effort, I was ready to be underwhelmed. But I wasn’t — after I realized precisely what that first solo effort really was.

In 1985, Roth released a four-track EP called Crazy From the Heat. His version of the Beach Boys song “California Girls” hit the top 10 (27 years ago this week, to be exact), and featured a video that ranks among the most famous of all time.

Roth’s second single, a medley of two songs dating back to the 1930s, also ruled MTV: “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody.”

One day I was in my office at the radio station when “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” came on, and it struck me what David Lee Roth’s Crazy From the Heat was — a comedy album. Each single was intended to be taken as a joke — which made Roth’s over-the-top rock-star persona a lot easier to take. After that, the Roth incarnation of Van Halen bugged me a lot less than it used to. (Van Hagar would be another matter altogether, but that’s a subject for another time.)

Experience more Rock Flashbacks.