The David Lee Roth Show
Encyclopedia
The David Lee Roth Show was a short-lived syndicated morning radio program in 2006.
as part of its Free FM
format, and was based out of WFNY-FM
in New York City
. The show replaced Howard Stern
's show in many of its east coast markets following Stern's move from the FM dial to Sirius Satellite Radio
at the end of 2005. Host David Lee Roth
was best-known as the former lead singer of Van Halen
and his ensuing solo career.
The David Lee Roth Show aired in seven markets on CBS owned and operated stations, WFNY-FM in New York City, WBCN-FM in Boston, WNCX-FM in Cleveland
, KLLI-FM in Dallas
, WYSP-FM in Philadelphia
, WRKZ-FM
in Pittsburgh
and WPBZ-FM
in West Palm Beach
. There was mass speculation regarding cancellation or format change when Roth took an unexpected one-week vacation in March, after having been doing the show for only two months. Following weeks of mounting tension between Roth and CBS Radio management (which Roth often expressed on-air), and several (corporately ordered) changes in format, CBS abruptly pulled the plug on the show without fanfare on April 21, 2006.
On April 24, 2006 CBS Radio
Chairman & CEO Joel Hollander announced that The David Lee Roth Show was being replaced starting on Wednesday April 26th with The Opie and Anthony Show
on all of Roth's former affiliates except for Cleveland affiliate WNCX. WNCX opted to produce its own local morning show and air Opie and Anthony in afternoon drive-time.
As a result of the cancellation of his radio show, Roth reportedly retained the same law firm that Howard Stern is using in his lawsuit against CBS Radio, its parent CBS Corporation, and CBS Corp's Chairman Leslie Moonves
. Roth has stated publicly that "Someone will pay" meaning his reported salary of $4 million and that if he and CBS cannot come to an agreement regarding his salary, a lawsuit will ensue.
"He's a mess, and he's a loudmouth punk." - syndicated radio host Don Imus
, whose show aired opposite Roth's on sister station WFAN
.
Critics and fans alike generally concluded that Roth was unprepared for a radio show, and close to the demise of the show, Roth himself suggested on the air that he agreed with this assessment. He also stated on-air at least once, in response to a caller's complaint, that he thought the show "sucked", although this was in reference to the new format forced upon him by Free-FM management.
Roth mentioned several times that his show was a work in progress, and that near the end of his run, he felt that he was getting the timing down. He also felt that he was trying to develop something "unique", quite different from the generic "morning zoo" programs that would replace him. He conceded that his show would take time to mature.
, reporters Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa wrote that conspiracy theorists say that Roth was never intended to successfully replace Howard Stern
. Supposedly, CBS Radio wanted to hire Opie and Anthony
all along but could not because...
History
It began airing on January 3, 2006. The show was produced by CBS RadioCBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
as part of its Free FM
Free FM
Free FM was a short-lived, mostly-talk-radio format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its name to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air,...
format, and was based out of WFNY-FM
WFNY-FM
WXRK , known on-air as "92.3 Now", is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, WXRK broadcasts a Contemporary Hit Radio format with a rhythmic lean...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The show replaced Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
's show in many of its east coast markets following Stern's move from the FM dial to Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
at the end of 2005. Host David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
was best-known as the former lead singer of Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
and his ensuing solo career.
The David Lee Roth Show aired in seven markets on CBS owned and operated stations, WFNY-FM in New York City, WBCN-FM in Boston, WNCX-FM in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, KLLI-FM in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, WYSP-FM in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, WRKZ-FM
WRKZ
- History :The 93.7 frequency in Pittsburgh began its life as WKJF-FM in the 1950s, an independently-owned FM station. For a brief time, there was a co-owned UHF TV station, WKJF-TV , which operated in 1953-54....
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and WPBZ-FM
WPBZ
WPBZ is located in the West Palm Beach, Florida area and broadcasts at 103.1 FM. Known as "103.1 The Buzz", it is an active rock music station with the slogan "The Only Station That Really Rocks"...
in West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
. There was mass speculation regarding cancellation or format change when Roth took an unexpected one-week vacation in March, after having been doing the show for only two months. Following weeks of mounting tension between Roth and CBS Radio management (which Roth often expressed on-air), and several (corporately ordered) changes in format, CBS abruptly pulled the plug on the show without fanfare on April 21, 2006.
On April 24, 2006 CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
Chairman & CEO Joel Hollander announced that The David Lee Roth Show was being replaced starting on Wednesday April 26th with The Opie and Anthony Show
Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
on all of Roth's former affiliates except for Cleveland affiliate WNCX. WNCX opted to produce its own local morning show and air Opie and Anthony in afternoon drive-time.
As a result of the cancellation of his radio show, Roth reportedly retained the same law firm that Howard Stern is using in his lawsuit against CBS Radio, its parent CBS Corporation, and CBS Corp's Chairman Leslie Moonves
Leslie Moonves
Leslie Moonves is President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation.Moonves served as co-president and co-chief operating officer of Viacom, Inc., the predecessor to CBS Corporation, from 2004 until the company split on December 31, 2005...
. Roth has stated publicly that "Someone will pay" meaning his reported salary of $4 million and that if he and CBS cannot come to an agreement regarding his salary, a lawsuit will ensue.
Criticism
"Roth's show is ... skin-crawlingly awful. ... In these days of bland Clear Channel/Infinity corporate radio, it's bracing to hear a guy who has no idea what he's doing. ... Listening to Roth, you feel actual physical pain." - Rob Sheffield in Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
"He's a mess, and he's a loudmouth punk." - syndicated radio host Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
, whose show aired opposite Roth's on sister station WFAN
WFAN
WFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
.
Critics and fans alike generally concluded that Roth was unprepared for a radio show, and close to the demise of the show, Roth himself suggested on the air that he agreed with this assessment. He also stated on-air at least once, in response to a caller's complaint, that he thought the show "sucked", although this was in reference to the new format forced upon him by Free-FM management.
Roth mentioned several times that his show was a work in progress, and that near the end of his run, he felt that he was getting the timing down. He also felt that he was trying to develop something "unique", quite different from the generic "morning zoo" programs that would replace him. He conceded that his show would take time to mature.
Conspiracy theories
In the April 28th edition of the Boston HeraldBoston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
, reporters Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa wrote that conspiracy theorists say that Roth was never intended to successfully replace Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
. Supposedly, CBS Radio wanted to hire Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
all along but could not because...
- Stern dislikes Opie and Anthony, and would have spent the last six months of his show slagging on them
- Stern liked Roth, and approved of his take-over
- Management at CBS Radio (then called Infinity Broadcasting) believed that whoever replaced Stern was doomed. An insider at CBS Radio was quoted as saying to the Boston HeraldBoston HeraldThe Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
reporters that, "He (Roth) looked good to Wall StreetWall StreetWall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
and they gave him a real shot. They would have loved for him to succeed but he wasn’t a radio guy, and it turned out to be a disaster."
Show cast
- David Lee RothDavid Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
– Host - John Hutchinson – Board operator (Known as Hutch)
- Brian Young – Guitarist (Known as B. Young)
Guests
- Robin Bakay – guest co–host
- Linda Reisman – guest co–host, Dave's EMT instructor
- Lisa Roth – guest co–host, Dave's sister
- Valerie Deore – guest co–host, from Dallas' 105.3 Free FM
- Danni – guest co–host, from 92.3 Free FMWFNY-FMWXRK , known on-air as "92.3 Now", is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, WXRK broadcasts a Contemporary Hit Radio format with a rhythmic lean...
's The Booker ShowChris BookerChris Booker is an American radio and TV personality.-Career:Chris Booker is a TV/radio personality. He has worked as a correspondent for TV Guide Channel covering red carpet events such as "Live at the Grammys with Joan and Melissa Rivers," and "Live at the Kids Choice Awards." He also served as... - Uncle Manny RothManny RothManny Roth is a former influential New York City nightclub owner and entertainment entrepreneur. Manny Roth owned the famous New York establishment Cafe Wha?. In the early 1960s, Cafe Wha? provided a stage for amateur acts such as Bob Dylan and Bill Cosby...
– studio guest, Dave's uncle - Ludlow Stan – recurring studio guest, record reviews
- Elizabeth Hayt (N.Y. Post Columnist – Love & Hayt) – recurring studio guest
- Animal – Dave's bodyguard
- Matt Sencio – Dave's manager
- Sasha – intern
- Chop – car salesman
External links
- The David Lee Roth Show Official website (Retrieved from the Internet Archives)
- Rare audio of his show