This is a recording of David Lee Roth doing the screams for "Running With The Devil" without any accompaniment. When I heard it, I commented that he sounded like he was being tortured with a hot poker. But really, he was just being a rock star.
Here he is actually singing and screaming…
And here he is singing the song… Damn, I miss the 80s sometimes.
This song brings back so many memories. Yes, I am very familiar with earlier versions of "Dancing In The Street", but this 80s version is the one that pops into my head when someone mentions that classic song originally made famous by Martha and the Vandellas.
Van Halen also did a well-known cover of this song… this live version sucks, though, and it looks like David Lee Roth mooned the audience, as he was known to do back in the day.
This is a better sounding version, though you don't get to watch Eddie Van Halen in this video.
The other day, I was writing a post for Pop Rock Nation about egotistical rock stars. One of the artists who popped into my head was Mick Jagger, who is known for his swagger. I went looking for an appropriate YouTube video and found the 1985 incarnation of "Dancing In The Street" starring Jagger and Bowie. As I watched these two legends cavorting, dancing, looking silly and… dare I say it? Flirting!
I posted it on my Facebook and a rash of comments ensued. My former accompanist turned music prof confessed a love for both artists but said that video made her skin crawl. Another friend said that in the 80s, you could slap any ol' mess up and call it a video. Frankly, the one effect it had on me was make me laugh. These two guys look like they're having a lot of fun… and they don't care how utterly ridiculous they look.
I did some checking because the YouTube comments inferred that Jagger and Bowie had once had an affair. According to Snopes.com, the rumor is only partly true. I will say that they look pretty fond of each other in their video. Mick Jagger reminds me a bit of my dog Arran at suppertime. Check out the similarities in this video I made…
This video has Van Halen's "Jump" on it, making it marginally more entertaining. I was new to making videos at the time.
In all honesty, I think David Bowie and Mick Jagger looked like they were having a blast, which isn't a bad thing… But now I think I have to read Christopher Anderson's book Mick, which supposedly has the lowdown on this duo…
When I was coming along, David Lee Roth was all the rage. He was the lead singer of Van Halen for years, but then had a falling out with other band members and got replaced by Sammy Hagar, who was also kind of popular in my day. For awhile, Dave had a solo career, and one song he did in the mid 80s was the classic hit, "Just a Gigolo".
I have always gotten a kick out of this video, since it really is a relic of my adolescence. In the 80s, everybody was watching MTV, which back in those days, still actually played music. Besides, this video was pretty funny. I especially enjoyed watching Dave being manhandled by Willie Nelson… or is that just someone who resembles the red headed stranger? I don't know, but it's funny.
David Lee Roth also covered "California Girls". To my great shame, I'm probably more familiar with his version than The Beach Boys' vastly superior original.
I did kind of like "Yankee Rose", though…
I hear David Lee Roth is back with Van Halen, which is a good thing. I think he was their best front man, especially when he wore his chaps on stage with no pants on underneath. I liked some of the songs Sammy Hagar did, too. But I don't think Hagar has quite the charisma and fun energy David Lee Roth has. And really, both the band and Roth belong together. Neither was quite as good without the other.
