Alex Van Halen Recalls the Jealousy David Lee Roth Had for Eddie Van Halen

Helping propel rock music into the mainstream, Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen, and Michael Anthony watched as Van Halen appeared to take over the music industry. For over a decade, the band traveled the world, releasing albums like Women and Children First and Fair Warning. But in the 1980s, the lineup changed when Roth left to explore a solo career, allowing Van Halen to welcome Sammy Hagar to the stage. While the band continued for nearly five decades, Alex recently revealed one reason Roth left and how it centered around Eddie’s fame. 

Sharing his thoughts about the conflict within the band, Alex admitted that jealousy played an important part in Roth leaving Van Halen. In his book Brothers, the drummer wrote, “He couldn’t handle the fact that Eddie was getting more attention than he was. He kept asking Eddie to play fewer guitar solos. Dave was convinced he was going to be a movie star.”

[RELATED: Why Alex Van Halen Considered David Lee Roth’s Exit from Van Halen “the Most Disappointing Thing I’d Experienced in My Life”]

Alex Van Halen Declares “You Cannot Destroy Energy”

While Alex continues to mourn the death of Eddie back in 2020, the musician called Roth leaving Van Halen one of the “most disappointing things I’d experienced in my life.” He added, “I don’t know where things went wrong… I have nothing but the utmost respect for Dave and his work ethic. I just think some of his choices were really strange to me, but that’s not my job to figure it out.”

Not able to rewrite the past, Alex offered his respect as he held no animosity toward Roth. “He was one of the three main components of the band. At the time we didn’t recognize it because we were constantly battling things out.”

As for his brother, Alex insisted time could never replace Eddie. “His spirit’s here, and it’s not something you can grab or touch. There’s something between us that’s just connected on a level that is beyond explanation.” Using science to help solidify his claim, Alex concluded one can’t destroy energy. “Scientists will tell you that you cannot destroy energy – it just takes different shapes, and that’s kind of how it is for me.”

(Ray Garbo/Shutterstock)