By 1985, David Lee Roth released his debut solo EP Crazy from the Heat months before leaving Van Halen and had his first hits with his cover of “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody,” first made famous by Louis Prima in 1956, and the Beach Boys’ “California Girls,” before he began working on his full-length debut Eat ‘Em and Smile.
Roth’s new band consisted of guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan, and Gregg Bissonette on drums. Vai co-wrote the majority of the album with Roth, while Sheehan contributed “Shyboy.” Eat ‘Em and Smile went to No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and opened on a surprising tribute to a famous New York City monument.
Videos by American Songwriter
From ‘Sea to Shining Sea’
She’s a vision from coast to coast, sea to shining sea sings Roth in the lead single “Yankee Rose.” When Roth started writing the song, the Statue of Liberty was under construction, undergoing a four-year renovation, completed in 1986 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the statue.
At the time, there was an increase in attention around the statue. Roth even gave Lady LIberty his own salute. The beginning of the song starts like a conversation between Roth and Vai’s guitar.
“It’s one of those quirky things about my technique,” said Vai in 2020. “Dave and I really hit it off. There’s something in us that has a similar kind of bent, a bizarre sense of humor. A lot of rock stars at the time would never go for something like that—talking guitar, talking with the guitar. But Dave was just like, ‘Yeah, man. This is crazy. Let’s do it.’”
David, what?
Where are you at?
Well, let me roll up onto the sidewalk and take a look, yes
Whoa, she’s beautiful
I’m talking about a Yankee Rose
And she looks wild, wild, wild, wild
Are you ready for the new sensation?
Well, here’s the shot heard ’round the world
All you backroom boys salute when her flag unfurls
Well, guess who’s back in circulation?
Now, I don’t know what you may have heard
But what I need right now’s the original good-time girl
She’s a vision from coast to coast (coast to coast)
Sea to shining sea (sea to shining sea)
Hey sister, you’re the perfect host (perfect host)
[RELATED: The ‘1984’ Rift Between David Lee Roth and Van Halen]
“That Little ZZ Top-Type Riff”
“What I’m good at is the song-crafting end, tweaking out the little phrases,” said Roth in an interview in the November issue of Winner magazine. “The two little high notes at the end of the phrase in ‘Jump,’ I wrote. The little riff in ‘Yankee Rose,’ that little ZZ Top-type riff that goes ‘da da da da da da Dah dum’—that’s me.”
Roth added, “When the two guitars do that thing in the middle when everything stops and they do it together and it’s just total spasmo, that’s my contribution.”
Further in, “Yankee Rose” references the fourth of July, a state of independence, and Roth’s own twist on the “The Star-Spangled Banner”—So pretty when her rockets glare / Still provin’ any night that her flag’s still there.
Show me your bright lights
In your city lights, alright
I’m talkin’ ’bout the Yankee Rose
Bright lights in your city lights, alright
I’m talkin’ ’bout it
When she walks, watch, the sparks will fly
Firecrackin’ on the Fourth of July
No sad songs tonight, something’s in the air (it will be like cancer)
A real state of independence
So pretty when her rockets glare
Still provin’ any night that her flag’s still there
The Video
In the music video for “Yankee Rose,” directed by Pete Angelus, who also worked on Van Halen’s “Jump” and “Hot For the Teacher” videos, Roth is seen covered in feathers and warpaint similar to his album cover in a convenience store. “Give me a bottle of anything and a glazed donut, to go,” he says before the video moves into mostly through performance footage.
“That whole experience was a life blessing,” said Vai on the 34th anniversary of the release of “Yankee Rose” and its video. “Man, did we have a great time? We were young, wild rock stars wearing crazy clothes and flying about the stage like a swarm of honey bees, and playing our asses off.
Vai continued, “I still marvel at how lucky I was to be a part of that party.”
Photo: David Lee Roth, circa 1986 by J Cummings/THA/Shutterstock
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.