This may not sit well with the rest of the group, but David Lee Roth is advocating for Michael Anthony’s return to Van Halen.
David Lee Roth with Van Halen
Bassist Anthony was rather unceremoniously removed from the group before their recent reunion with Roth and replace by Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang. Anthony has claimed in the past that he never received a reason for his dismissal but that hasn’t mattered as he has gone on to success in Chickenfoot with another ex-Van Halen member, vocalist Sammy Hagar, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
For Roth, it’s not so much the loss of his bass playing but more his distinctive vocals. He told Rolling Stone:
Clearly, vocals are every bit as much a component of success as a rhythm section or a guitar solo, and there’s an old expression saying, “They don’t go home singing the lighting show, they don’t go home singing the production.” You’re right, they sing my words and my melodies. And what we have at our fingertips is arguably one of the greatest high tenor voices ever – that was in Michael Anthony. In our tiny little corner of the universe, that voice is as identifiable as the high voice in Earth, Wind & Fire, as identifiable as the high voice in the Beach Boys.
