Going Solo: Yankee Rose By David Lee Roth

Whenever I watch Adam Sandler's movie The Wedding Singer, I remember the scene where he tells his ex-fiancee to take off his Van Halen t-shirt before she jinx the band and they brake up. Actually, they did and from what I remember, it was one of the biggest news in the the entertainment industry at the time. I have to admit when I first heard the single "Jump", I was surprisedd because something was missing and that was the that heavy substance that I often hear from the past songs and the fact that kids dance to this song which is suppose to be a rock song was something I found very disturbing. I felt that if they came out with another album, they would probably go down the glam-rock route and fade away in spandex and hair spray. Well when Roth did part ways with the group, he went solo and launching song was called "Yankee Rose".

When I heard the song and saw the video, it had all of Diamond Dave written all over it. The heavy theatrics and loud outfits plus all that jump and kungfu moves on the stage. I have to admit, being part of that era, I liked those kinds of songs at the time and still do. For me, the problem was that he didn't try to make any kind of transition to the next era. From that observation, despite his success, it didn't take long before he dropped out of the limelight. He was able to come up with another album in the 90's, did loung acts in Las Vegas, wrote his memoirs, tried radio and thrashed any hopes of a reunion. It's a shame his band broke up which had some of the best musicians at the time including Billy Sheehan and Steve Vai.

So what did I learn from all of this, you would ask? Whether you're musicians, soldiers, policemen, teachers, cooks or even janitors, when you're in a group, all be in harmony with each other. There'll always be frictions because people aren't perfect, but make sure it doesn't get too intense that it'll affect the whole group. I guess we'll never why Roth and Van Halen parted ways. There are a lot of speculations, but only they know the truth.