Actually, this song was from an EP David Lee Roth did called Crazy From The Heat. On this EP, he did songs from other artists. The first release was his rendition of the Beach Boys hit California Girls. This being David, there were plenty of beautiful girls in the video, and the song launched his solo career.
It actually may have played a part in the Beach Boys revival that led to that group's unlikely duet with the rap group The Fat Boys for the song Wipe Out. The Beach Boys then went on to record Kokomo, which was a hit. Did Roth's cover of their hit start the momentum for them? It certainly gave him momentum.
For his third song from that EP, David did a cover of Louis Prima's 1956 song Just A Gigolo. Prima actually had combined two songs as I Ain't Got Nobody was written by Roger A. Graham with music written by Spencer Williams. Just a Gigolo had been translated by Irving Caesar from an Austrian song.
This is not a typical rock song, and that may be part of it's charm. It wasn't the top five hit that California Girls was, but it still made it into the top 15 of the Hot 100. It was a catchy tune with lyrics people enjoyed singing along with. However, the video may have been what drove its success.
Dave loves to ham it up for the camera, and he plays a music video show host, dreaming about what his video would be like if he could make one. The video has some crazy characters, beautiful girls and rock star look alikes such as Billy Idol, Boy George, Willie Nelson and Cyndi Lauper. The video is a lot of fun and a classic. Some people rank it high among the all time greatest music videos.
The Video
David Lee Roth - Just A Gigolo
