Ultimate Classic Rock did a month-long countdown of their Top 100 Classic Rock songs – the twist being each band only got one song.
Van Halen came in at No. 8 with their choice, “Everybody Wants Some!!”. “If you’ve attended any one of the group’s concerts in recent years, it might be pretty easy to understand why ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ gets the nod over dozens of other extremely worthy candidates.” They claim that this song from 1980?s ‘Women and Children First’ “shows all four members at their peak individually and collectively.”
“Alex Van Halen’s tribal drumbeat and his brother’s alternately scratching, chugging and squealing guitar promising something epic is heading our way. They keep that vow when Eddie finally releases the song’s main riff, which sets Roth off on a bold romantic vocal safari. He whoops, he yelps, he engages in seductive pillow talk; it doesn’t always make sense but it sure does work. Of course, none of them could be so bold without Michael Anthony filling in both the low and high ends so wonderfully.
“At nearly every show we’ve attended in the past five years — and that’s been a lot — ‘Everybody Wants Some!!” was one of the clear highlights on the night. The moment of release after that massive introductory build-up gets a gigantic cheer each night, and seems to signify the part of the evening where all the levels get balanced correctly and everything clicks into a higher gear.”
You can read everything they said about “Everybody Wants Some!!” here. Or see their entire list of 100 songs here.
Which song would YOU pick if you had to pick just ONE song to represent Van Halen on their list?