“Running With The Devil” by Van Halen
Dad’s Song of the Day, Sept. 13, 2025
A couple weeks ago, I saw an Instagram post that asked for the best first song on an artist’s first album.
There were some really solid examples that illustrated what this new artist is all about, such as “I Saw Her Standing There” by the Beatles, “Do it Again” by Steely Dan, and “Rock N Roll Star” by Oasis…
But, for me, it’s this one…just imagine seeing this record by a brand new group called Van Halen…”hmmm, I wonder what this could be? Maybe some Dutch folk music??…”
And then you get clobbered by that intro: “(Blaring car horn)…(Whomp…whomp…whomp…)…and then a thrashing Eddie Van Halen guitar riff…David Lee Roth screeching like a lunatic…
Just the perfect way to introduce your new hard rock band to the world!!