DLR was and is Van Halen.....in my opinion. Sammy is great but not the best. They should have never made Van Halen lll with Gary Cherone,It was pretty bad.

David definitely. Sammy was okay, but David gave a show! Gary just sucked!

Tanya

David Lee Roth.  They were great with Sammy, too...but to me that was Van Hagar. 

David Lee Roth.  They were great with Sammy, too...but to me that was Van Hagar. 
I agree...though nowadays I would NOT want to see Roth as the lead singer anymore :P

I think Sammy had a better voice than DLR -just check him out on "When It's Love",what an amazing range!

I think Sammy had a better voice than DLR -just check him out on "When It's Love",what an amazing range!


I agree with this. I always found it funny how most DLR fans hated Sammy, and Sammy fans tend to hate Dave's material. I must have split personalities 'cause I like them both. ;D

Actually, I'll admit I knew of Dave's songs first - "Jump" especially, which was a huge hit in 1984. He had some other real classics with the band, such as "Janie's Cryin'", as well as a few cool solo hits.

If I had to pick my favorite singer of Van Halen songs, it would narrowly go to Dave, but if I picked a favorite overall singer, it would be Sammy. I just love his 80's solo songs (even though I didn't discover his stuff until the 90's) -- total party rock with just a slight pop edge.

A key factor in why I picked him is that he also did ballads and love songs quite well, which Dave did not (DLR did a few mid-tempo songs like "I'll Wait" which were basically lighter rockers and not really ballads anyway). The whole 5150 album was great, but their other albums with Sammy on board couldn't quite match up in consistency IMHO.

I agree with this. I always found it funny how most DLR fans hated Sammy, and Sammy fans tend to hate Dave's material. I must have split personalities 'cause I like them both. ;D

Actually, I'll admit I knew of Dave's songs first - "Jump" especially, which was a huge hit in 1984. He had some other real classics with the band, such as "Janie's Cryin'", as well as a few cool solo hits.

If I had to pick my favorite singer of Van Halen songs, it would narrowly go to Dave, but if I picked a favorite overall singer, it would be Sammy. I just love his 80's solo songs (even though I didn't discover his stuff until the 90's) -- total party rock with just a slight pop edge.

A key factor in why I picked him is that he also did ballads and love songs quite well, which Dave did not (DLR did a few mid-tempo songs like "I'll Wait" which were basically lighter rockers and not really ballads anyway). The whole 5150 album was great, but their other albums with Sammy on board couldn't quite match up in consistency IMHO.
Well said, Marty. I'm one of the few who loves Sammy and tolerates Dave. As for the "Van Hagar" Era, I liked the 0U812 and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge LP's as much if not more than 5150 :)

Sammy is a Real (Red) Rocker, DLR is just another Showman.

Sammy. Gary sucks.  ::)

Though I don't like him personally, Diamond Dave was the best on the mike for VH.

ONLY because Roth was first would I favor him...but like I said before...with Sammy they were really a different band...just as good possibly better, but definatly different, hence my Van Hagar reference. Sammy Hagar is a person I'd have a few drinks with and enjoy talking to....Roth would most likely just talk about himself :-\\

David Lee Roth will always BE Van Halen for me.  I saw them three times in NY and they remain some of the best shows I've ever seen (other than Billy Joel at Nassau Coliseum).

Sammy took some getting used to as VH's frontman.  I had enjoyed him so much as a solo artist that at first his sound didn't seem to fit with the rest of the band.

It actually wasn't until I saw them in 1995 in Atlanta that I accepted that Van HAGAR was here to stay (little did I know).

Once Eddie and the guys kicked Sammy out, I quit VH altogether.  I've been clean ever since.

Has to be DLR

Although I liked a lot of Van Halen's stuff with Sammy, David Lee Roth gave the band a swagger that Hagar never quite matched. (BTW--I heard somewhere that Dave is training to be an EMT in New York, is that true?)

David Lee Roth

Oh God, Hagar hands down. How anyone could take Roth serious is beyond me. Just a gigolo..yeah uh huh.. whatever...

DLR was cartoonish, cheesy and really if you've seen any interview of him, an enormous nerd. I'm sorry guys, but doing splits up in the air in assless leopard pants does not a rocker make. It was like watching a clown on stage.

Hagar finally brought rock to Van Halen. When he joined, they finally had a real singer, not some poser who thought he WAS the band. So glad that Van Halen went on to sell even more records without DLR, just to prove him wrong on that point. They didn't have their first number one album until after he was out.  ;D

That song "why can't this be love" will always be Van Halen's best single.

And I'm sorry, but I gotta take issue with the Van Hagar comment. Because Eddie was always more Van Halen than DLR ever was. As long as he was in the band, they were Van Halen.