David Lee Roth - Goin' Crazy!

For my money, David Lee Roth's 1985 departure from Van Halen was a real musical tragedy.  Led by Diamond Dave's showmanship and Eddie Van Halen's guitar licks, Van Halen had become superstars by the mid-1980s.  Both factions seemed to suffer after the breakup, and it is hard not to wonder what they would have produced together.  In fact, the parties involved also seem to have (eventually) realized this as there have been several reunions since 1996.

But in 1985, these reunions were very far away.  Inspired by the success of his Crazy From the Heat EP, Roth put together a group to rival Van Halen.  Guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Gregg Bissonette were all outstanding musicians, but the songwriting and chemistry just did not seem to click as much as they had in Van Halen.

On the other hand, Roth's campy and slightly insane worldview remained front and center -- and was well-suited for MTV.  As an example, the video for "Goin' Crazy!" has a nearly three minute intro (skip to 2:36 if you would just like to see the song).

"Goin' Crazy!" reached #66 on the charts, while the Eat 'Em and Smile LP hit #4 and went double platinum.  While 1988's Skyscraper was a hit, Roth's fortunes then faded; by the early 1990s he was no longer a major star.  Van Halen saw a similar trend, and the group has reunited with Roth several times since 1996.  The most recent incarnation of Van Halen has included DLR since 2006 or so, and even released an album (A DIfferent Kind of Truth) in 2012.  They appear to be together as of this writing.

Cool trivia fact:  "Goin' Crazy!" was originally intended to also be the theme of Roth's movie of the same name, but the project was shut down.

Note that Van Halen's cover of "Pretty Woman" was posted on ERV in January 2012.

[January 2019 update]  So it turns out that DLR made a Spanish version of "Goin' Crazy" called ..."Loco del Calor." See it for yourself, below: