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David Lee Roth Stumbles in Stern’s Footsteps

Okay, it was bound to be a thankless job. CBS Radio knew it was going to be hard, if not impossible, to replace “King of All Media” shock jock Howard Stern after his departure, and they hedged their bets by lining up dual replacements: in L.A. and the West, it was Loveline and Man Show veteran Adam Carolla; in New York and the East, it was flamboyant ex-Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth.

So how are the boys doing? Stern preached to a choir of 12 million; while it is unclear how many of those listeners bit the bullet and shelled out for Sirius, almost all studies indicate that the crowd has dispersed, with some even turning to the opposite pole and choosing NPR over Roth and Carolla.

Of the two, Roth has been the obvious trainwreck. His interviews have been awkward, his banter with on-air callers has been strained, and his news reporting skills have… well, what did you expect, people? He recently abandoned the morning news in favor of reading the comics. One thing Roth has in common with Stern is an affinity for on-air tirades against his employers; Diamond Dave has accused CBS of restricting his conversation topics and trying to make the show so painful that the host will quit, negating his contract and allowing CBS to get out of paying him. Roth himself has speculated that his morning reign could be over by May -- and there aren’t many insiders or critics who’d disagree.

“Listening to Roth, you feel actual physical pain,” wrote Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield. Ouch.

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
04.13.06