David Lee Roth Tears Up While Sharing 'Full Circle' EVH Story

David Lee Roth teared up while regaling his audience with a heartfelt story about his "full circle" songwriting experience with Eddie Van Halen at a recent solo concert.

The tender moment took place during Roth's Tuesday performance at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania. You can see footage from YouTuber Jim Powers below.

David Lee Roth Reflects on His and Eddie Van Halen's Similarly Humble Beginnings

Perched on a stool while strumming a classical guitar, Roth began his story by reflecting on his and Van Halen's similar upbringings.

"Most of these songs that I wrote with Ed, we wrote in a very, very tiny little space," he recalled. "I myself started off in the exact same space. My dad was just starting in school on the GI Bill when I happened. Back in 1954, the Fender Stratocaster was released, and so was I.

"And we lived in student housing for about the first 10, 12 years of my life," the singer continued. "It was very tight, about the size of the drum riser here. And I had a little space that was for the washer and the dryer, and just enough for me on some cinder blocks with a foam rubber cushion."

As it turns out, Roth's future Van Halen bandmate had a similar childhood. "When I met Ed — now Van Halen — I went over to their house over in Pasadena, California," he said. "When I first walked into Ed's [room], it wasn't even a room. It was identical to the way I grew up. You had to go from the backyard to the kitchen, and you moved through what they called his room, but it was just a little alcove for a washer and a dryer — and then, ultimately, me."

Watch David Lee Roth Tear Up While Remembering Eddie Van Halen

At this point, Roth leaned away from the microphone and fought back tears before continuing.

"The beginnings of every song we sing to you tonight, I started with Ed," Roth said. "He had an electric guitar, and his mom wouldn't let him plug into the amp. So I would have to listen to the electric guitar without an amp, and it'd be so close that our knees would touch.

"And those first couple of years, God, how many hours did I spend leaning over like this?" Roth asked, leaning forward and pretending to watch Van Halen's fingers. "Tape recorded on a Sony little thing with the push buttons and the cassette player. Take it home, write the lyrics and bring it back and go, 'I think it's a song about runnin' with the devil or something. What do you got next?' It would be so quiet that our knees would touch the whole time. We never noticed."

Roth then shared a funny anecdote that exemplified the early headbutting between himself and Van Halen: "And these were the days when I'd say, 'Hey, you wanna have a cigarette?' He'd go, 'Yeah,' and that's what we would have. The two of us, one cigarette. 'Don't f---in' hotbox it. You're lipping it. No, f--k you, too. Oh, f--k you twice. He f---in' runs with the devil, what's that f---in' mean?' There was friction early and we loved it."

How David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen Came 'Full Circle' Decades After Meeting

Roth then fast-forwarded to his short-lived 1996 reunion with Van Halen, which yielded a pair of new songs, "Can't Get This Stuff No More" and "Me Wise Magic," marking the final tunes released by the band's original lineup (Roth, Eddie and Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony).

"I guess about 30 years later, whatever it was, Ed and I had both gotten tombs with a view. That's what I call those big houses. As big as this whole building," Roth said. "And Ed built himself a multimillion-dollar studio, and it had all the most modern equipment. And I'd been away from the band for a while, but hey, great healing. We come back, and he says, 'Okay, we're gonna write two more songs.' That's great."

Many things had changed by then, but one stayed the same. "And I was sitting in the middle of the room — about the size of this f---in' room, no shit — and I was on a chair, and I was reading a paperback, waiting on him," Roth recalled. "And when he came in, he put a cigarette in his mouth, came over, brought a chair right in front of me, and sat down in it and scooted forward till our knees touched. That's how I wrote the last two songs. Full circle."

David Lee Roth Reflects on 'Explosive' Queen and Bowie Records

Roth then took the audience "back to 1973, when I met Ed. Oh my God, what a time for music that was. Queen had just done their first album. It was explosive. And David Bowie had shaved off his eyebrows and had that vertical f---in' haircut. Oh my. Nobody saw shit. His haircut was as tall as his platform shoes. Nobody had ever seen [anything like] it."

The singer performed a freewheeling version of John Brim's "Ice Cream Man," which Van Halen famously covered on their self-titled debut album. Like the recorded version, Roth's acoustic rendition swelled to a full-band performance replete with scorching guitar solo.

"I played guitar in the folk clubs," Roth informed the audience before playing the tune. "And it was Ed who said, 'We should probably shorten that up, 'cause we're gonna have a great career unless you don't shorten that up.' This is the original version."

Roth's tour continues on Saturday in Boston. The singer is currently scheduled to be on the road through mid-August.