ROCK HALL OF FAME Denies It Snubbed VAN HALEN's DAVID LEE ROTH

March 11, 2007

Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame responded on Saturday (March 10) to David Lee Roth's public protests that he's been rudely snubbed.

The clock is ticking toward Monday night's induction of VAN HALEN into the Hall and, as of Saturday, Roth was standing by his pledge to skip the show, which will air live on VH1 Classic. The flamboyant rocker blames Hall officials who won't let him perform on the stage. But Joel Peresman, the Hall's president and CEO, said in a Saturday e-mail to the Los Angeles Times that Roth has told only part of the backstage story.

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is sorry that David Lee Roth will not attend this year's induction of VAN HALEN. We offered him opportunities to play and sing a VAN HALEN song of his choice with our House band, including his own guitar player or a song with VELVET REVOLVER and he refused those opportunities."

The Roth camp says that the only offer they had received before Friday was an invitation to perform "You Really Got Me" with VELVET REVOLVER. Roth balked in part because that song, off VAN HALEN's first album, was originally recorded by the KINKS and is not a "true" VAN HALEN song.

Roth wanted to do his trademark tune, "Jump", but that was a curveball for VELVET REVOLVER, apparently, with rehearsal time limitations.

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