David Lee Roth Releases New Track Honoring His Time in Van Halen

David Lee Roth surprised fans with the release of a new song that honors his time in Van Halen.

The track is titled "Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway," and the artwork for the track is a photo of the classic Van Halen lineup from their early days.

"Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway" features the plucky acoustic sounds of current Rob Zombie guitarist John 5, who also served as the guitarist in Roth's solo band for a stretch in the late '90s and early aughts. The song was recorded in the much rumored and lauded recording sessions between Roth and 5 that took place during the 2010s but has never received a grand, full album release. DLR shared the track via his social media channels, with John 5 commenting on Instagram, "My favorite...I'll never forget the day we recorded this."

This isn't the first track in recent memory Roth has released honoring his Van Halen days. Shortly after Eddie Van Halen's death in October 2020, Roth released the track "Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bar and Grill," which served as a tribute to the late guitarist. Diamond Dave wrote a brief message on the track's artwork that read, "Hey Ed, I'm gonna miss ya.' See you on the other side..."

David Lee Roth is one of rock's greatest frontman and, overall, one of music's most unique characters.

When he's on stage, he's the ultimate showman. When he's off stage and talking with the press, he walks a line between brilliant and insane. One minute, he takes off on a stream of consciousness that convinces you he's not all there. Then he'll throw out a surprising one-liner that'll make you think, "Holy s---...Diamond Dave's has been smarter than all of us this whole time."

Roth will often release his "stream of consciousness" moments on YouTube nowadays. Back in February, he released a clip about his music video for "California Girls." Roth, of course, released his cover of the Beach Boys classic in 1985. The cover was featured on the EP Crazy from the Heat. That EP title would be recycled by Roth as the title of his 1997 autobiography.

Roth reflected in the video, "On a personal note: I feel fairly confident saying that these were some of the best times in my life, not the times on stage that my dad most envied about me. These were probably the moments everyone else's dad envied most about my life, and looking back now, even I envy me."

It's comments like that that set DLR apart from most rock figures, both past and present. During his heyday, Roth was one of rock's biggest stars because he was fronting one of the biggest bands in the world. Plus, not enough can be said about his stage presence. How could you not love those high kicks and toe touches?! Even today, he's often more interesting than most "current" lead singers in rock. Then again, who else could really replicate his unique brand of madness?

In honor of years of zaniness, let's wish a happy birthday to the one, the only David Lee Roth by looking back at these ten quotes attributed to him.