David Lee Roth has released a new song with lyrics that pay tribute to his legendary band Van Halen. The track, “Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway,” is the latest in a series of new songs the singer recorded with Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 several years back, but only began releasing in 2020.
With the opening line, “We laughed, we cried, we threw the television off that balcony,” the song is an obvious ode to his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band. If it wasn’t clear enough, the still image that accompanies the YouTube audio is a vintage shot of Van Halen.
Upon the song’s release on Wednesday (July 27th), John 5 wrote on Instagram, “I remember being in the studio with Dave cutting this track — it was magic, one of my fondest memories. I’ve loved Van Halen my whole life and that will never change @davidleeroth.”
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A few weeks ago, DLR released the song “Pointing at the Moon” from the same sessions. Back in 2020, he unveiled “Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar & Grill” in tribute to Eddie Van Halen, shortly after the guitarist’s passing.
Earlier this year, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted spilled the beans on a planned Van Halen tribute concert that never materialized. Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, recently suggested in an interview that DLR may have had a hand in nixing the concert, saying, “Some people can be hard to work with, and made it not happen.”
Take a listen to David Lee Roth’s “Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway” below.