Edward Van Halen: A Definitive Biography by Kevin Dodds Read Free Book Online Page A

many ways. There on, Edward handed over vocal responsibility to Dave almost one hundred percent totally and completely on both cover arrangements and lyrics and titles for original songs. What Edward wrote—what were just pieces of music to him—were given titles by David. These titles are synonymous with Edward himself: “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Dance the Night Away,” “Unchained,” “Hot for Teacher” . . . The background vocals and harmonies that Edward would become famous for delivering came from the words and melodies crafted by someone else. It was a simple “I do the music, you do the words” arrangement.
    When wondering just how different Edward and David were, David summed it up: “Right off the bat, two entirely separate record collections and everything.” One was what the other wasn’t and the other the same. One just wanted to concentrate on the music and the other wanted to systematically conquer the scene, and sing, too.
    When the rechristened Van Halen hit the circuit, they were truly human jukeboxes able to play just about anything required or requested of them. Edward and the band wanted to play the clubs but their initial forays were unsuccessful, particularly at Gazarri’s Teen Dance Club in Hollywood. With Ed all about the music and Dave all about show business, Dave laid it out: “They weren’t getting the shows in the bars. They couldn’t understand why. I explained to them one day, ‘It’s because you play all twenty minutes of ‘I’m So Glad’ by Cream, complete with drum solo, live, note-for-note, and it’s very impressive, but you can’t dance to it.’ That’s not ‘Excuse me, do you come here often?’ music. The club owners described it as ‘too psychedelic.’ The band couldn’t get arrested.” Ed said, “We had to audition there at least three or four times. A guy would come running up in the middle of a song because I was too loud.”
    Henceforth, Dave vowed to “check every song for danceability .” They stuck with rock obviously, but focused on ones with groove, like “Just Got Paid” by ZZ Top and “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith. Following Dave’s lead, the band did finally land a regular gig at Gazzari’s starting in April of 1974, where they made $75 per show. According to Dave, “We started working forty-five minute sets a night, running the dance contest and so forth.” Looking to make a big impression, Ed once commandeered the stage with a new pair of platform shoes that required a little more lead time to get used to than he realized. Actually, the shoes were part of his following Dave’s orders, the latter now the self-appointed fashion leader of the band as well. “He always told me I looked like shit,” said Eddie. “So around the time we auditioned for Gazarri’s on the Sunset Strip, I got some platforms and nearly broke my ankles.” According to Michael Anthony, his first gig with band required him to wear a gold and silver lamè shirt, not his first choice under any real circumstance actually, much less a backyard Pasadena keg party. For the same show, Edward even wore a cape!
    “Eventually we were a fixture at Gazzari’s,” said Dave. “We knew two-hundred songs by other people.” To show how far the band went down the danceability route, they even covered “Twist and Shout.” A 1974 live recording shows that it’s not really the Isley Brothers or The Beatles. It sounds like Van Halen. Edward definitely packs in the guitar fills, but it is an excellent early example of how Edward and Michael’s background dual harmonies worked so well against Dave’s lead. This classic, gospelesque tune is specifically written as an old school call-and-response number for a lead singer with a background choir, if you will. It would end up becoming a songwriting/performance technique that Dave and Ed and Michael would perfect and become a signature of the classic Van Halen sound. Edward said that the unique VH harmony backing