Van Halen Singer David Lee Roth Announces Retirement: 'I'm Not Going To Explain'

David Lee Roth has announced that he's retiring soon.

Roth, the on-and-off frontman of the rock band Van Halen, is only a few performances away from his retirement. In a phone call with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the 66-year-old singer said he still has five upcoming shows in Las Vegas at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, but after finishing these performances, he will be retiring.

"I am throwing in the shoes. I'm retiring," he was quoted as saying by the outlet. "This is the first, and only, official announcement … You've got the news. Share it with the world."

Roth declined to elaborate why he wanted to retire from music, adding, "I'm not going to explain the statement. The explanation is in a safe. These are my last five shows."

Although he didn't explain his decision, Roth hinted that his retirement could be due to his health. The singer said he had been thinking about "the departure of my beloved classmate recently," referencing the band's songwriter and guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who died last year.

"I am encouraged and compelled to really come to grips with how short time is, and my time is probably even shorter," Roth said.

He also mentioned Eddie being the first member of Van Halen to pass. "I thought I might have been the first, frankly. I might have thought the Marlboro Man would’ve got me. 'Hey Ed, objects in the rear-view mirror are probably me,'" Roth added. "And my doctors, my handlers, compelled me to really address that every time I go onstage, I endanger that future."

Eddie succumbed to throat cancer in October 2020. In August, his son Wolfgang took to Instagram to share a series of photos of him with the rock legend and speak about his grief over losing his father.

"I’ve had so many dreams lately where Pop and I are just doing normal things and then I realize it’s a dream, stop whatever I’m doing and hug him for as long as I can until I wake up," Wolfgang wrote. "I miss the f--k out of him. I can’t believe he’s not here anymore. Still doesn’t feel real."

Roth, who met Eddie and Alex Van Halen in the 1970s at Pasadena City College in California, was part of Van Halen's original lineup. He sang lead vocals for the band's first six albums before departing in 1985. He briefly reunited with them in 1996 and rejoined them full-time in 2007.

Aside from his time with the band, Roth also has a successful solo career and released seven albums between 1986 and 2003.

Roth's final concerts at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay will start on New Year's Eve and continue with four more shows on Jan. 1, 5, 7 and 8. Tickets are now available for purchase.