On February 10th, 1978, Van Halen released their self-titled debut album. To celebrate itâs 41st anniversary, here are 17 things you might not know about it:
1. The group recorded the album in just three weeks and most of it was done live with very few overdubs.
2. The cover photos were taken at LAâs Whisky a Go Go.
3. David Lee Roth has said Van Halen is his favorite of the bandâs records.
4. âRunninâ with the Devilâ has been misinterpreted as satanic. While the band has never said what it really is about, itâs believed to be about what itâs like being a young touring band.
5. âRunninâ with the Devilâ starts with a bunch of car horns. Those horns actually came from the band membersâ own cars. They removed the horns and put them in a box, powering them with two car batteries and a foot switch. They were then slowed down in production. Including car horns on a track had been Gene Simmons â idea. The Kiss bassist produced a demo for Van Halen in 1977.
6. The lyrics to âRunninâ with the Devilâ were inspired by funk band Ohio Players â song of the same name.
7. The instrumental âEruptionâ had been part of Van Halenâs show since at least 1976.
8. âEruptionâ introduced Eddie Van Halen âs two-hand tapping technique to the rock world.
9. âEruptionâ almost didnât make it onto the album. Eddie didnât think it was right for the band but producer Ted Templeman overheard it while the guitarist was rehearsing for a live show. The engineer just happened to be recording so Ted had it go on the record.
10. While recording âEruption,â Eddie made a mistake and to this day, whenever he hears it he thinks he couldâve played it better.
11. The band released their cover of The Kinks â âYou Really Got Meâ because of an encounter Eddie had with a group called Angel . Eddie showed Angelâs drummer a demo of their version of the song and the next day he learned Angel were recording their own cover of it to release before Van Halenâs. VH rushed to get theirs out first.
12. Eddie was upset âYou Really Got Meâ was the first single off the album because he didnât want the single to be someone elseâs song. He wouldâve preferred âJamieâs Cryinâ.â
13. Kinks guitarist Dave Davies reportedly didnât like Van Halenâs version of the song. It didnât help that a concertgoer once congratulated him for doing a âgreat cover of the Van Halen song.â His brother, Kinks singer Ray Davies , said he liked the song because it made him laugh.
12. When Eddie wrote âAinât Talkinâ âbout Love,â he didnât think it was good enough to even show his bandmates.
13. Eddie penned âAinât Talkinâ âbout Loveâ to be a punk rock parody but it didnât end up sounding punk.
14. âAinât Talkinâ âbout Loveâ is about casual sex.
15. âJamieâs Cryinââ is about a girl who has a one-night stand that she regrets. Ironically, David Lee Roth, who has had his fair share of one-night stands, penned the lyrics.
16. âIce Cream Manâ is a cover of Chicago blues musician John Brim . He recorded it in 1953.
17. Van Halen has sold more than 10 million copies in the US alone, giving it diamond status.