Former VAN HALEN lead vocalist, David Lee Roth, recently unveiled his solo track entitled “The Shit That Ended Elvis”
This song is now accessible on YouTube and is offered in both electric and acoustic renditions. It’s noteworthy that this track was originally recorded in 2007 in collaboration with guitarist John 5 for an album that, as of yet, remains unreleased.
David Lee Roth first brought up “The Shit That Ended Elvis” in a 2013 Rolling Stone interview when discussing the shelved album created with John 5. When asked about the possibility of performing these songs live with John 5, David Lee Roth stated: “Absolutely. That’s what it’s aimed at. It’s autobiographic.
‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bar And Grill‘ is the opening theme song, and it’s about an Indiana kid who goes to sleep — think the Wizard Of Oz — and the characters in his life, the butcher, the baker and the newspaper guy, pop out of posters and sing him a song called ‘Giddy-Up!’
And he finds his way to all the good things in life, having discovered rock in the ’60s, and there’s a song titled ‘Alligator Pants‘ — yes, I own a pair, I wore them for the last two tours. And things go horribly left-of-center wrong, of course, when you sell your soul to the devil, and one of the tunes is called ‘The Shit That Killed Elvis‘. So yeah, it’s pretty stellar material.”
In the year 2020, David Lee Roth integrated five songs that had never been heard before into “The Roth Project,” an online comic featuring the iconic VAN HALEN vocalist providing narration. The music was expertly performed by John 5 on guitar and bass, with Gregg Bissonette on drums, Brett Tuggle on keyboards, and Luis Conte on percussion.
The most recent addition to this collection is “Manda Bala,” along with four other tracks: “Giddy-Up!“, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bar And Grill,” “Alligator Pants,” and “Lo-Rez Sunset.” These songs were all meticulously recorded at Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.
John 5‘s initial major opportunity in the music industry came when he contributed to David Lee Roth‘s solo project, “DLR Band.” Following this, he went on to work with Marilyn Manson and subsequently became a key member of Rob Zombie‘s band. His most recent collaboration with the legendary VAN HALEN frontman dates back approximately fifteen years. John 5 provided a sneak peek of this album during an interview with Masters Of Shred in May 2019.
