David Lee Roth has shared a newly recorded version of Van Halen’s monster hit “Jump.” The singer laid down the track during a 2022 session that has also yielded new renditions of other Van Halen classics.
The recording took place on May 3rd, 2022, at the Henson Recording Studio in Hollywood, California. The track features Al Estrada (guitar), Ryan Wheeler (bass), and Francis Valentino (drums).
Previous songs that have come out of that session include “Unchained,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” “You Really Got Me,” “Dance the Night Away,” “Panama,” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.”
It’s unclear why Diamond Dave chose to record new version of these Van Halen classics. Perhaps he set out to prove that his voice was still in good shape, after receiving criticism about his live performances in recent years.
Earlier this year, fellow former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar declared, “[Roth] doesn’t care about singing. If he did, he’d take care of his voice or he’d take voice lessons and get warmed up and do something. ‘Cause the guy sang so bad last time he was doing shows, it was embarrassing.”
That all said, Hagar recently invited Roth to perform with him on his upcoming summer tour, although he later specified that he meant for just one or two shows at most. For his part, Roth responded, “I’m ready to go. Let’s do this!”
Hagar’s “Best of All Worlds” tour — which will see him celebrating Van Halen’s music with an all-star backing band comprised of Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham — will run from mid July through late August. Tickets are available here.
Take a listen to David Lee Roth’s updated version of “Jump” below.
