David Lee Roth is putting his own spin on a classic Billy Joel track. During a recent Oregon concert, Roth delighted the Grand Ronde crowd with a cover of “New York State of Mind.”
Joel released the song in 1976, and it appeared on his fourth LP, Turnstiles. Roth is far from the only musician to cover the popular track. Artists including Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett have recorded versions of the track.
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The Van Halen frontman kicked off his solo Don’t Love Me, Rent Me Tour earlier this month at a show in Spokane, Washington.
Ultimate Classic Rock reported that, during his set, Roth performed “Little Dreamer,” a track that appeared on Van Halen’s self-titled debut, for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The trek will continue through the summer, before wrapping up on Aug. 7 in Sturgis, South Dakota.
David Lee Roth’s Coachella Surprise
Ahead of his tour, Roth made his way to the desert. The musician popped up as a surprise guest during Teddy Swims’ set at Coachella. The guys performed a fiery rendition of Van Halen’s 1984 hit, “Jump.”
“He’s been so generous, and was like, ‘Man, I’ll follow you on tour and get up there with you every night if you want,’” Swims told Good Morning America of Roth. “He’s the freaking man. Van Halen’s my favorite band. He’s the best singer of all time.”
As for how the men got connected, Swims revealed that they happened to be rehearsing near each other and he went up to the singer.
“I sat with him and asked him everything. He was so gracious to share his rum and Cokes with me, and talk to me about all his crazy stories, so I asked if he wanted to come play with me,” Swims said. “He’s the coolest guy in the world… What you see on stage is what you get all the time, 24 hours a day. He’s a real rockstar.”
The pair had so much fun during Coachella’s opening weekend, that they’ve since teamed up twice more. They played “Jump” together during the second weekend of the festival, as well as at Stagecoach.
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