Wolfgang Van Halen Reveals He Invited David Lee Roth to Jam with Dad Eddie After His Band Departure

"[I thought] everything's going to be great and nothing bad is ever going to happen," Wolfgang says of playing with David Lee Roth on 'Behind the Music'

Michael Buckner/Getty Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen and Wolfgang Van Halen in Los Angeles in August 2007
Michael Buckner/Getty Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen and Wolfgang Van Halen in Los Angeles in August 2007

Wolfgang Van Halen is recalling the time he called up David Lee Roth to play for Van Halen again.

During Wolfgang's episode of Behind the Music on Paramount+, which dropped Thursday, May 2, the Mammoth WVH frontman details how he got his start playing with his father Eddie Van Halen's band.

"It was 2006 and nothing was going on. The 2004 tour happened and that was a reunion so to speak with that singer [David Lee Roth]. He went on to do his stuff. Mike [Michael Anthony] had done stuff with him after that and I know that really bummed out Al [Alex Van Halen]," Wolfgang, 33, says.

He continues, "Al and Dad were always jamming no matter what. It wasn't until I was hanging out that he was like, 'Hey Wolf pick up a bass.'"

Related: Valerie Bertinelli Gets Honest About 'Drugs, Alcohol, Infidelity' with Eddie Van Halen, Says He Was 'Not a Soulmate'

Alex then appears for a sit down interview and says that it was all for fun — until he realized the kind of talent that Wolfgang brought to the table.

"I was fun. It was clearly just a fun thing for the three of us. We did it for a while — to the point where it was like oh s---," Wolfgang says. "There's something here. We were connected on a new level other than just family. We were rhythmically intwined."

Then, he had an idea to call Roth, 69, back to jam.

<p>Chelsea Lauren/WireImage</p> Wolfgang Van Halen and David Lee Roth perform in Los Angeles in June 2012

Chelsea Lauren/WireImage

Wolfgang Van Halen and David Lee Roth perform in Los Angeles in June 2012

"I wrote out an exact wording of what I should say so I could call David Lee Roth and ask if he wanted to come over and jam. I remember really specifically, my dad made me finish it with 'this ain't no joke.'"

"I basically was like, 'Hi. This is Wolfgang Van Halen and I've been jamming with my uncle and my father at 5150 and we'd have a lot of fun if you came and joined us. This ain't no joke," he adds.

At the time, Wolfgang was "really excited" and there was no "negativity in my mind at all."

Related: Wolfgang Van Halen Suggests David Lee Roth Insulted Him Because 'My Dad Isn't Here to Be a Target'

"It was like, 'Oh I'm playing with my family and this is going to be really exciting. Everything's going to be great and nothing bad is ever going to happen,'" he says with a laugh. "Shows you how young I was."

This revelation comes after Roth posted a YouTube video in which he ranted about and mocked Wolfgang in January. The "Distance" singer responded to his comments during a March interview on Atlanta radio show The Morning X.

"I’m honored [Roth] even thinks about me as much as he seems to," Wolfgang, who went on to play with Van Halen for 14 years.

"I seem to have been born into this Van Halen drama that has come way before me," he added. "And now that my dad isn’t here to be a target, I guess he went to the next best thing."

Wolfgang's episode of Behind the Music is out now on Paramount+

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.

Advertisement