1984 – Dave releases ‘California Girls’ single

David Lee Roth released his cover of a Beach Boys classic, one which took him into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time as a solo artist.

Produced by Ted Templeman, who’d already proven that he could work studio magic with Roth while he was a member of Van Halen, “California Girls” was one of four covers that appeared on Roth’s first solo endeavor, the CRAZY FROM THE HEAT EP. Although it was recorded and released when he was still officially a member of Van Halen, that situation changed not terribly long after it hit stores.

As it was released during the height of MTV’s early success, “California Girls” came with an accompanying music video, of course, one in which Roth played a character that he called ‘Diamond Dave.’ It had moments where it knowingly and willfully channeled The Twilight Zone, and it was also legitimately funny, so viewers requested it regularly.