charts Year-end charts Certifications Van Halen version The American hard rock band Van Halen released a cover of "You Really Got Me" for their 1978 debut album, Van Halen. As the band's first single, it was a popular radio hit that helped jump-start the band's career, as it had done for the Kinks 14 years earlier. This version, which was cited by Eddie Van Halen as an "updated" version of the original, featured "histrionic" guitar playing by Eddie Van Halen and "vocal shenanigans" by David Lee Roth. The song had been played by the band live for years before its studio release. On the radio, it is often featured with "Eruption", the instrumental that precedes it on the album, as an intro. The song was released as a single as a result of an encounter between Eddie Van Halen and members of the band Angel. Eddie Van Halen and Angel drummer Barry Brandt had both been bragging about their new material to one another, resulting in Eddie Van Halen showing a demo of "You Really Got Me" to Brandt. On the following day, the band's producer, Ted Templeman told Van Halen that Angel was recording their own cover of "You Really Got Me" to release before Van Halen's version. As a result, the song was rush-released as a single before Angel could do so. Record World said that it's a "supercharged, heavier version" than the Kinks' version and that "it's still a fine, primal rocker." Eddie Van Halen later expressed dissatisfaction with the use of "You Really Got Me" as the band's debut single. He said, "It kind of bummed me out that Ted [Templeman] wanted our first single to be someone else's tune. I would have maybe picked "Jamie's Cryin, just because it was our own." The Kinks' Dave Davies has claimed to dislike Van Halen's rendition of the song, saying "There's the thing: good art isn't always about having the comfiest technique. I shouldn't encourage him, but I'm sure Eddie Van Halen played better when he was drunk." He also told of how a concert-goer approached him after a live show and congratulated him on performing a "great cover of the Van Halen song". Ray Davies, on the other hand, claimed to like the track because it made him laugh. Charts See also List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1960s Notes References Citations Bibliography Further