The Five Songs That Inspired David Lee Roth’s Solo Debut

David Lee Roth is best known as the lead singer of hard rock heroes Van Halen. During that group’s heyday, Roth appeared on six albums, all of which went Diamond or multi-Platinum. “Diamond Dave” would eventually leave the group, though he’d return twice in later years. Yet even when he was still a member of the classic 1974-85 lineup, Roth embarked upon a solo career. That career has brought forth six studio albums; 2003’s Diamond Dave is his latest to date.

But for Roth’s debut, he took a different approach. Setting aside the metal-leaning aesthetic of Van Halen – and opting to not write songs for the release — he debuted with Crazy from the Heat, a four-track EP with a distinctive party vibe. The EP drew upon songs that had influenced Roth, and it was a massive success both critically and commercially, going Platinum and spawning singles. In fact all but one of the record’s tunes would be released as a single, and all of those singles charted.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of David Lee Roth’s debut EP (released on January 28, 1984, here’s a look at the five songs that appeared on Crazy from the Heat.

“Easy Street”
Written by multi-instrumentalist Dan Hartman (composer of the 1984 solo hit “I Can Dream About You” and co-writer of James Brown’s 1986 smash “Living in America”), “Easy Street” was first recorded by the Edgar Winter Group for its 1974 LP Shock Treatment when Hartman was that group’s bassist and primary songwriter. Released as a single from Crazy from the Heat, Roth’s cover of the song made it to #14 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.

“Just a Gigolo”
The second-oldest song covered by Roth, “Just a Gigolo” dates from the 1920. The song began its life as a set of lyrics in 1924 by Austrian composer Julius Brammer. Fellow Viennese Leonello Cassuci set the words to a tango melody in 1928. The following year, acclaimed American theater composer Irving Caesar adapted the song into English. Within a few years the song appeared in a Betty Boop animated featured and in a version by Louis Armstrong. Its biggest success was yet to come when paired in a medley with another song in 1956.

“I Ain’t Got Nobody”
Written in 1915, “I Ain’t Got Nobody” quickly became a standard, performed and recorded in a myriad of styles and genres. Artists covering the tune included Booker T & the MGs, Mos Def, and George Clooney’s aunt Rosemary. But the song is best known for a version first recorded by Louis Prima. His version combined “Just a Gigolo” and “I Ain’t Got Nobody” into a jump blues with a playful arrangement; it helped land Prima a record deal and became his signature song. Nearly 30 years later, David Lee Roth cut a version closely modeled on Prima’s take, and scored a #12 Billboard hit single.

“California Girls”
Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote “California Girls” for the Beach Boys’ ninth album, 1965’s Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). The song was a #3 hit single, and went Top Ten in many other countries. Its travelogue lyrical nature may have inspired the Beatles’ “Back in the U.S.S.R.” released a few years later. It certainly inspired David Lee Roth’s 1985 cover version, which not only featured Beach Boy Carl Wilson on harmony vocals, but an identical chart placement: #3 on Billboard’s singles chart.

“Coconut Grove”
The only track on David Lee Roth’s Crazy from the Heat not to receive a separate single release, “Coconut Grove” is a cover of a deep cut on the Lovin’ Spoonful’s 1966 LP Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful. Composed by John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, the original version of the song featured percussion using African djembe; Roth’s version featured synthesizer work by Grammy-winning composer/orchestrator James Newton Howard.