Steve Stevens recently reflected on passing up the offer to join David Lee Roth’s solo band. He explained the reason he didn’t think of Eddie Van Halen’s solo on “Beat It” while working on “Dirty Diana” with Michael Jackson.
Steve Stevens earned the reputation of a highly sought-after guitar player once 1982’s “Billy Idol” and its 1983 follow-up “Rebel Yell” started making the waves. In a matter of years, Stevens found himself collaborating with Michael Jackson in a role previously occupied by Eddie Van Halen, and creating music for a blockbuster as big as “Top Gun”, for which he even won a Grammy.
On Jackson’s “Dirty Diana”, Stevens had the tricky job of crafting a guitar solo similar in spirit to that of Eddie Van Halen’s efforts on “Beat It” while asserting his own musical identity.
The former song is commonly seen as a spiritual successor to the latter, Stevens told Guitar World in a recent interview that he tried not to think of Eddie’s solo while working on “Dirty Diana”:
“Ed’s tone is… I always looked at it as sacred ground. I can appreciate other guitar players, but I’ve never been one of those guys to mimic other players.”
“Dirty Diana” wasn’t the only occasion where Stevens got the chance to step in Eddie’s shoes. However, he politely refused to do so. The guitarist revealed he was offered offer to join David Lee Roth’s solo band at its beginning, but the role eventually went to Steve Vai. Steve said:
“I don’t know if it’s common knowledge, but I was approached to join David Lee Roth’s band initially, and I didn’t want to be Eddie part two, you know?”
“I think Steve Vai has a strong enough personality, and as a stylist, to make it his own. But I was in fear of falling into exactly what you’re saying – hearing Dave’s voice and hearing Ed’s tone.”
When asked whether he ever thinks about how his career would’ve looked like had he accepted that offer, Steve said:
“Not really – by the time I met Dave I had already played with Eddie and hung out with him. I really liked the friendship and I just thought, ‘I’m not the right guy.’ And I didn’t want to leave Billy either.”
“I was approached while we were finishing up Billy’s third album, ‘Whiplash Smile’ [1986], and I’m a committed band guy. I just thought, ‘It’s not the right thing for me.’ Plus, I’m too short – those guys are all tall!”
