Valerie Bertinelli on David Lee Roth: I’d like to sit down with him and go, “Dude, what did I do?” – 2022 – Interview – Eddie Van Halen

Valerie Bertinelli on David Lee Roth during a conversation on Rob Lowe’s Podcast:

After Ed and I became involved, all of a sudden, there was this rule that there were no girlfriends, or no wives allowed on the road. I got along great with Al and Mike. Someone else didn’t like me. I don’t know why he didn’t like me. I was always nice to him. I honestly don’t know.

One day, I’d like to sit down with him and go, “Dude, what did I do?” I’ve always been a fan of yours. I think you’re a brilliant frontman. I think you’re a brilliant songwriter. I love your lyrics. Why don’t you like me? What did I do?

On Van Halen’s Music Videos, Bertinelli said:

That was all Dave and Dave’s imagination. He really had a lot to do with those videos. He was so brilliant. Dave, why do hate me? I’ll talk you up, dude. I still think you’re an amazing artist. I’m a very nice person if you get to know me.

David Lee Roth during a 1986 interview with SPIN:

A lead guitarist is married to a television star. I came back from one of my trips about two years ago. It was a camping trip in Tahiti. Spent two weeks camped on Mt. Bali Hai, where the cloud cover is so rich it’s like a ceiling. You could literally put your hand up into it and it disappears up to the elbow. We went into those clouds and stayed there, waiting for the ghosts. When we came back, all sunburnt and everything, we were at the airport, the band’s getting ready to go back out on tour.

There’s the guitar player and there’s the television-star wife, the TV star. She says to me, “So where did you go on vacation this time, Dave?” Well, we just got back from Bali Hai Mountain in the South Pacific. Did you ever hear of it? She says no. I say OK and go into overdrive. Television star. I say, “Uh, you ever see the play South Pacific?” No. “Ever hear of the movie?” No. “Come on, you don’t remember her beckoning to the French guy and singing, ‘Bali Hai is calling’?” No.

I go into hyper drive. “You know the band Led Zeppelin?” Yeah. “Remember the tune, ‘Immigrant Song’?” She said, “Yeah.” I says, “He probably stole that melody from ‘Bali Hai’.” To this day I’m sure she thinks Page wrote South Pacific.