Van Halen’s frontman David Lee Roth was the nephew of Manny Roth, the founder of the legendary New York City club Café Wha?. Manny Roth died this week at the age of 95, after a life filled with incredible sights and sounds.
In the 60s and 70s, Café Wha? was the place in Greenwich Village for musicians and comedians to perform. Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, Bill Cosby, you name the artist, they played there. In 2012, after playing at Madison Square Garden, Van Halen stopped by Café Wha? to give a few hundred of their fans an impressive 11-song set. David Lee Roth said at the show, “It took us 50 years to get this gig.”
