Back when music video was very new, say about 192-1984, there seemed to be some acts that were born for it. Bands that understood that being an entertainer also meant that there needed to be something to look at as well as being listen to. Band like Duran Duran, Devo and, yes, Van Halen. When VH's "1984" came out, it seemed like they were born fully formed into the video age. With four albums of solid guitar rock/metal behind them, they fully embraced a pop-rock sound and made upbeat, feelgood videos that were fun to watch. Like "Panama":
And their excellent "Hot for Teacher":
Soon after 1984 had fizzled out, David Lee Roth embarked on a solo career. His first EP, Crazy From the Heat, took the Van Halen party formula and thrust it forward to it's logical extreme. Roth was a camera hog, a ham and he chewed up the scenery like no one else at the time. The two videos that came from the EP, "California Girls" and "Just a Gigolo", were paeans to the excess of the 80s, with Roth as a grinning, wacky ringmaster. "California Girls" had racial stereotypes and rampant sexism, with Roth wallowing in the absurdity, like some sort of Roman idol, all of the members of the video's cast seemingly worshiping him.
"Just a Gigolo" came off like a Las Vegas stage show, with Roth changing costumes and sets every 15 seconds or so, skewering the pop idols of the time (including Billy Idol). It seemed like Roth was ready to take over the music world.
By the time his first full length album, Eat 'em and Smile, came out, Roth was beginning to look long in the tooth. The album was enjoyable enough and the first single and video for "Yankee Rose" was wacky enough, but the edge seemed to be dulled. Roth's stage presence was reduced to his trademark high-kicks and karate moves, and he was hanging off his backing band (containing an up-and-coming Steve Vai) like he was in Motley Crue, not being his own man.
His second full length, Skyscraper, was a disaster. The music industry had passed him by. Roth was a parody of himself and his music lacked the energy and sheer mania of his earliest solo work. The video and single "Just Like Paradise" sounded like every other rock band on the planet.
Growing up, I remember watching Roth and being very excited to watch this new kind of rock star, one born for video, take off. Watching him very quickly fizzle was disappointing, but showed he needed some talented people backing him up for him to really shine. His ego was too much for his music and he quickly proved to be a shyster in spandex. Strangely, his prediction at the end of the "Hot for Teacher" video, where he became a popular gameshow host, didn't fall too far from the mark. Really, who respects a gameshow host, that is, if your name isn't Bob Barker?
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