David Lee Roth Believes Van Halen Music Will Endure 'Like Shakespeare'

David Lee Roth looked back fondly on his career with Eddie Van Halen, calling it one of the best relationships in his life.

Roth made the comments on a new edition of his long-dormant podcast, The Roth Show, reflecting on Van Halen's early career and Eddie's death in 2020.

"Boy, I miss him," Roth said. "I had a ball with Ed. Walt Disney once said, 'You know what? My love affair with Mickey Mouse was better than any love affair with a woman I ever had.' ... I gotta tell ya: playing with Ed, writing songs with Ed, presenting those songs with Ed, was better than any love affair I ever had.

"And some of those songs, I think, might last forever — or until the last syllable of time, like Shakespeare said. They became anthems. Where are they playing 'Jump' right now?"

Roth continued the thread he started by mentioning "Jump."

"I remember when he played it on the keyboard downstairs. I said, 'No!'" Roth laughed. "We we reflect the times, and the times at that time was guitar, guitars, guitars, and 'Jump' was one of those hybrids."

The singer, who recently released a handful of Van Halen covers that he recorded with his solo band, also revealed that he recently had surgery on one of his feet to correct damage from arthritis on his big toe.

He suggested that the podcast he was recording was the result of his limited mobility post-operation.

Listen to the return of The Roth Show via the player below.