Born to a schoolteacher and an ophthalmologist, David Lee Roth entered the world in the Monroe County town of Bloomington, IN.  At an early age David was given an introduction to music by way of his father's Al Jolson records, later picking up on the Ray Charles songs being played on the radio and attending live performances at the Cafe Wha during visits to his uncle Manny, the venue's proprietor.  In his teens, his family had relocated to Southern California, and he began performing as a member of an L.A.  rock band named the Red Ball Jets.  It was through his association with the Jets that Roth was introduced to the Pasadena band Mammoth and the two brothers behind it, guitarist Eddie Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen; the rival band on occasion rented the Jets' P.A. system, and eventually they invited Roth to join their ranks.  By 1974, upon discovering the moniker Mammoth was already being used by another band, the group changed its name to Van Halen on the suggestion of Roth and began working to establish it's reputation through relentless gigging in the Sunset Strip area.

During regular appearances at the Starwood Club, Roth and Van Halen attracted the interest of KISS bassist Gene Simmons; Simmons assisted the band with the production of a demo tape, which eventually helped to secure a deal with Warner Brothers Records.  The resulting 1978 debut release Van Halen proved to be a huge success with the heavy rock crowd -- as much for the music as for the reputation for excess surrounding the band (a reputation largely resulting from the on- and off-stage antics of the band).  Over the next six years, the Roth-fronted version of Van Halen released a series of increasingly-popular albums: the sophomore effort Van Halen II (1979) followed by Women and Children First (1980), Fair Warning (1981), Diver Down (1982) and, finally, the career-culminating release 1984.  1984 featured several of what continue to be the band's best known songs, Jump and Panama -- the promotional videos for which had Roth leaping about and shaking his spandex-wrapped ass on television sets all around the world.

In 1985 David Lee Roth released Crazy From the Heat, an EP of cover songs that scored big with versions of Louis Prima's Just a Gigolo and The Beach Boys' California Girls.  By this time the fact that Roth and his Van Halen band mates had become mutually fed up with each other had become well known and the release of a solo project was a clear indication that the end of his tenure was drawing near.  Not long afterwards Roth officially announced his departure.  The next year Roth issued his full-length solo debut Eat 'Em and Smile; both this album and it's follow-up release, Skyscraper (1988), rivaled the popularity of his Van Halen-era material, in no small part due to Roth making use of a backing band that included the skills of ex-Frank Zappa guitar acrobat Steve Vai and bassist Billy Sheehan.

The 1990s saw the inevitable decline for the singer, his next two albums A Little Ain't Enough (1991) and Your Filthy Little Mouth (1994) making a greatly diminished impression on the mainstream music scene.  Roth responded with several fruitless strategies to regain his former status, beginning with a short-lived effort to break into the has-been Vegas circuit.  A failed attempt to rejoin Van Halen followed with two songs for a "best of" collection and a non-musical appearance at the 1996 MTV Music Video Awards.  An event that ended in a public war of words between Roth and the guitarist Edward Van Halen, and brought an abrupt end to any speculation about a long-term reunion.  An intimate biography (Crazy From the Heat, 1997) failed to ignite much controversy.  After putting together a new band and releasing a fifth solo album, DLR Band (1998), Roth made his second attempt to rejoin Van Halen; apparently, some recording sessions were completed in 2000, but the project was stalled by Eddie Van Halen's announcement of a cancer diagnosis the following year.

In 2004, David Lee Roth appeared on The Sopranos as a poker-playing guest of Tony Soprano, to which Roth was quoted on his website as saying, "Mom says I'm going to look like Lee Marvin in 10 years whether I'm in movies or not, so I might as well get after it!"

On July 4 2004, Roth performed with the Boston Pops at Boston's annual Pops Goes the Fourth celebration.

On January 3, 2006, Roth began a career as a radio personality, hosting a self titled show that replaced satellite-radio-bound Howard Stern in the morning drive slot on CBS Radio stations in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and West Palm Beach.  Roth's show developed into a mix of music reviews, interviews with porn stars and strippers, right wing political rants, and guests from many walks of life.  Roth's show featured an in-studio guitarist, Brian Young, referred to on air as "B. Young." On the morning of April 21, 2006, about halfway through the show, Dave was ranting about his show not being able to take calls or emails.  Roth returned to the air to interview famed car salesman "Chop", and then actor Jeff Bridges.  Roth made an agreement with CBS to address the situation with 15 minutes left in the show; however, when that time came CBS pulled the plug on him, and did not allow him to say good-bye to his fans.

Strummin' With The Devil: The Southern Side of Van Halen is an album released by David Lee Roth in 2006.  It features his and multiple other artists performing covers of Van Halen songs of the Roth era, done in bluegrass style music.  It was released on June 6th, 2006.