DAVID LEE ROTH Offered His Jogging Buddy An Opening Slot On VAN HALEN's 1984 Tour, And He Didn't Even Have A Band; PROFESSOR OF ROCK Reports (Video)

Professor Of Rock has released the new video below, along with the following message:

"One of the coolest and lesser known stories in rock history. Drummer Keni Richards used to be David Lee Roth’s jogging buddy. One day Diamond Dave asked him what he was up to, and Keni showed him a demo of the band he was in. DLR wasn’t impressed. Keni then showed him a demo tape of a bunch of his drinking buddies who jammed together on the weekends. They weren’t even a band. Diamond Dave loved the sound and offered the non-existent band a slot to open for Van Halen on their 1984 tour. Keni was ecstatic. So they put together the band officially and decided to name it Autograph, comprised of lead singer Steve Plunkett and tapping genius guitarist Steve Lynch. But Lynch was told that he could'nt use his tapping style while on tour with Van Halen because that was Eddie Van Halen’s thing. As the make shift band came together and played, they got better and better and ended up getting a record deal which lead to writing one of the 80s best hard rock songs, 'Turn Up The Radio'. Only Autograph had to fight to get it released as the label didn’t believe in it. Then they had to sell out a little without the music video which was sponsored by Paper Mate and one of the most obvious product placement videos ever. The song was a smash as Autograph had a built in pedigree for radio with it’s call to action and recorded version for stations. This was a band on fire and then they never had another hit.  They are now remembered as a one hit wonder, but they deserved better. We find out where the band is now."