The David Lee Roth Show
The David Lee Roth Show was a
Following its January 2006 debut, a plurality of critics savaged the show, chiding its "amateurishness," while a minority praised Roth's willingness to bring something so obviously "non-corporate" (and ultimately "anti-corporate") to American mainstream radio.
History
Background
In October 2004, Stern announced his departure from terrestrial radio for the subscription-based satellite radio service Sirius Satellite Radio, starting in 2006. Stern had been at WXRK-FM in New York City, the country's number one radio market, since 1985, and moved to morning drive in February 1986. In the same year Stern's show entered national syndication, and aired to peak of 60 stations in the US and Canada. The Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy spawned a government crackdown on indecency in television and radio by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), prompting Stern to leave for Sirius, a platform exempt from its regulations.
Shortly after Stern's announcement, his employer and WXRK-FM owner,
Stern's final live terrestrial broadcast aired on December 16, 2005, after which WXRK switched call letters and formats to WFNY and Free FM, a new, mostly talk-based format emphasising the free-to-air service in comparison to the increasingly popular Sirius and XM Satellite Radio services. In addition, Infinity was reorganized as CBS Radio.
Launch and run
The David Lee Roth Show launched on January 3, 2006, and was simulcast to six other CBS-owned stations:
On February 27, 2006, less than two months into his stint, Roth took a one week vacation which prompted speculation about his future. Tom Herschel, general manager of his Cleveland affiliate, assured Roth would return and that the break had been planned for weeks, but questioned why Roth needed to take time off.
On March 7, WFNY station manager Tom Chiusano and programming vice president Mark Chernoff held a meeting with Roth to discuss ways for Roth to improve the show. According to Roth, the pair asked him to stop playing "foreign" and "ethnic" soundbeds and appeal to "a 35-year-old white male who likes Lynyrd Skynyrd".[7] Roth spent most of the following live broadcast criticising Chiusano and Chernoff and their suggestions, claiming they wanted him to "copy Stern" which he refused to do, and stressed that he was hired to deliver something "unique".[7] Roth was informed that the addition of a female newscaster was a possibility.[7]
After CBS pulled the show for two days, Roth returned to the air on March 31. The program had noticeable changes, with the 40 rotating music beds and the various sidekicks dropped, leaving just Roth and his board operator Hutch in the studio. Roth said the show was dropped for not following directives and avoiding news and traffic, and for "black fun humour" with his security guard Animal. He said CBS issued him a series of letters forcing the changes, or else face disciplinary action.[8] Rother later said management issued him four letters in five days, and predicted his show could end before May 2006.[9]
Cancellation
On April 21, around 20 minutes before the show went live, Roth was told that the show was being cancelled after the day's broadcast.[10] On his last show, Roth said: "I was booted, tossed, and it's going to cost somebody", hinting legal action towards CBS for full compensation of his reported $4 million contract. The announcement came shortly before the quarterly Arbitron ratings were published.[11]
On April 24, CBS announced
Criticism
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 said that during the first four weeks on the air, "I was like a fish flopping around at the end of a stick."[7]
Howard Stern stated that the original incarnation of Van Halen is his favorite rock and roll band of all-time, and also that he "like[s] David Lee Roth" on a personal level. Regarding The David Lee Roth Show, Stern stated in a 2010 interview with former CBS executive Rob Barnett that he knew that the show would fail when Roth did not seem to grasp the idea that talking to a radio audience is different from talking to the crowd at a rock concert. "He looked at me with a blank stare," said Stern, "like he wasn't concerned."[13]
In the April 28 edition of the Boston Herald,[14] reporters Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa wrote that some observers speculated that Roth was never intended to successfully replace Howard Stern. Supposedly, CBS Radio wanted to hire Opie and Anthony but did not because Stern openly disliked Opie and Anthony, was a fan of Roth. Reportedly, 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 Herald reporters that "(he) looked good to Wall Street, and they gave him a real shot. They would have loved for him to succeed, but he wasn't a radio guy."
"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, Rolling Stone
"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.
"Why anyone ever thought that would work as a radio show is beyond me, it was absolutely unlistenable." -syndicated radio host Tom Leykis.
Show cast
- David Lee Roth – 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 FM's The Booker Show
- Uncle Manny Roth – 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
- Stacy – the listener who called daily to scream to David on the air that he "sucked"
References
- ^ Blabbermouth (April 21, 2006). "DAVID LEE ROTH: 'I Was Booted, Tossed, And It's Going To Cost Somebody'". BLABBERMOUTH.NET.
- ^ "The David Lee Roth Show (2005)". The Boston Globe. July 16, 2005. p. 45.
- ^ "The David Lee Roth Show (2006)". The Los Angeles Times. April 22, 2006. p. 39.
- ^ "The David Lee Roth Show (2005)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 26, 2005. p. 23.
- ^ Washington, Julie E. (February 25, 2006). "WNCX plugs in local show for vacationing David Lee Roth". Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- ^ Hinkley, David (February 28, 2006). "What hath David Lee Roth on FM?". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on April 15, 2006. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Hinkley, David (March 9, 2006). "Roth airs wrath after bosses' Stern lecture". The New York Daily News. p. 91. Retrieved October 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mexican Standoff: "Dave" Roth Charges CBS Radio With Sabotage". FMQB. March 31, 2006. Archived from the original on April 7, 2006. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Roth continues to struggle as radio show host". Today. April 12, 2006. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "The David Lee Roth Show (2006)". Newsday. April 22, 2006. p. 8.
- ^ McShane, Larry (April 12, 2006). "David Lee Roth Bounced from Airwaves". CBS News. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ Farhi, Paul (June 26, 2006). "Opie & Anthony Get the Last Laugh". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-04-21/entertainment/27062332_1_howard-stern-radio-show-opie-and-anthony [dead link]
- ^ "The Boston Herald – Conspiracy in the air: Roth was a fall guy". Archived from the original on September 29, 2006.
External links
- The David Lee Roth Show Official website (Retrieved from the Internet Archives)
- Rare audio of his show