John 5 ‘Will Beg’ David Lee Roth to Release Collaborative Song

If anybody should know what David Lee Roth is capable of, it’s John 5.

The guitar virtuoso — whose resume includes longtime stints with Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, and collaborations with Motley Crue, Sebastian Bach, Steve Perry, Alice Cooper and dozens more — got his first major break playing on Roth’s 1998 solo album, DLR Band. They’ve written more together over the years, including the recent country-fried single "Giddy-Up" and last year’s Eddie Van Halen tribute "Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill."

But John 5 says Roth is sitting on a collaborative track that would blow fans’ minds.

"There’s a song, I’ll tell you, called 'Nothing Could Have Stopped Us,'" the guitarist tells UCR. "This song is so great, and I just literally will beg Dave and Dave's team to release this song. "Cause it's about Van Halen, and it's so good. I mean, it's so fucking good. And I just wish he would release it."

The guitarist estimates that he and Roth cut "Nothing Could Have Stopped Us" “probably like five years ago." Based on his description, it sounds like the song is musically similar to Roth's last two singles, both of which were primarily acoustic, good-humored romps.

"The music is really sophisticated, if you will," John 5 says. "It's not just strumming, it's sophisticated. And it [took only] a couple takes, and Dave just nails it. I mean, you would have heard this and [gone], 'Oh, this could have been on Women and Children First.'"

Listen to David Lee Roth's 'Giddy-Up' Feat. John 5

Nailing his parts in a couple takes is nothing new for John 5, especially when it comes to working with Roth. "He said, ‘If you can’t get it in two takes, you can’t get it,'" the guitarist recalls of the DLR Band sessions. "Just get a really good performance, a really live, good performance. He doesn't want a lot of takes, you know? And I think that's cool because you're put on the spot, you gotta do your best."

John 5 also likens "Nothing Could Have Stopped Us" to "Damn Good," the wistful acoustic song off Roth's 1988 sophomore solo album, Skyscraper. "It's Dave just talking about the good old days, actually, and singing about it,” he enthuses. "'Nothing could have stopped us.' And it's so true. Nothing could have stopped [Van Halen], and nothing did. I have chills right now, in fact."