In an exclusive excerpt from Ted Templeman and Greg Renoff’s book Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer’s Life in Music, the legendary producer of Van Halen’s first six records explains how an impromptu stage rap from singer David Lee Roth turned into one of the band’s most beloved songs.
The story picks up with Templeman, who had already produced Van Halen’s first two albums, catching up with the band at the end of their tour in support of Van Halen II, and witnessing the inspiration for what would become one of the most important songs on their next album, 1980’s Women and Children First:
At the end of their 1979 tour, I saw their show in Phoenix. I’d catch them live whenever I could because I found that I’d pick up little ideas that could be used on their upcoming album. That night, I stood at the side of the stage and watched. In between songs, Dave launched into this rap about all the hot girls in the audience. He said something like, “You Arizona guys out there are some lucky fuckers! But hey, I get it! Everybody wants some, and I want some too! How about all of you?”
The crowd went crazy.
After the show I went backstage. I grabbed Dave and said, “Write that down in your notebook. That’s a great idea for a song.” That was the beginning of “Everybody Wants Some!!”
The development of that song is a good example of our working relationship. At the time, Ed had put together a little melodic chorded intro before the main riff of the song kicked into gear. I thought it was a good idea when we worked on it in the basement, but when we got into Sunset Sound in December 1979, I thought it was kind of lame.
But it was all we had, so we went with it when we initially tracked it. I don’t remember what Dave’s original ideas were for the song, but he and I didn’t like them all that much. So when Dave asked, “Hey, Ted, got anything?” I reminded him of what I’d heard him say in Phoenix. His eyes lit up. He said, “Oh yeah!”
He flopped into a chair and started writing on a notepad. In less than ten minutes, while Donn was polishing the sound of Alex’s tom-toms, he came up with a lyric pretty close to what ended up on the album. Now I wasn’t surprised, because he has an uncanny ability to come up with words on the spot. He’d done nearly the same thing with “Jamie’s Cryin’” back in 1977.
Read More: 10 Things We Learned From Ted Templeman’s Book
His last-second writing bursts produced quality too, because what he came up with was both clever and unique. To top it all off, when he sang the words to me, he had the melody as well. When Dave was locked in like that, you couldn’t ask for more as a producer.
The song had a steamy breakdown propelled by Alex’s jungle drums, an atmosphere that Dave contributed to with his vocalizations. Hearing that gave me an idea that took me back to my childhood when I’d hang out at my grandfather’s music store. I suggested we cop the drum intro of the Cadets’ “Stranded in the Jungle.” They were a fifties R&B group, and “Stranded” had been one of my favorite records when I was a kid.
Hear the Cadets Perform ‘Stranded in the Jungle’
Alex’s drumbeat worked wonderfully as an opening for the song, and so we scrapped Ed’s chorded intro. Even though Dave’s first passes at his vocals were usually pretty rough, I always wanted Dave in the vocal booth when the other three guys were laying down tracks together; I firmly believed that Dave needed to sing with each and every take. He’d settle in after a while, and Donn and I would get some good performances from him on tape.
At the end of the recording process, we’d comp his vocals from his multiple takes as needed or, if necessary, bring Dave back in the studio to repair any bum notes on his live takes. This approach of having the vocalist always sing along while the instrumentalists recorded their basic tracks is not something that I always had my other acts do, but Ed, Al, and Mike really played off Roth as he did his thing.
I’d watch him in the booth, listening to those guys as they recorded. It was like having the Big Bad Wolf cartoon character in full view of, and in the headphones of, the other three guys, and that was especially true for “Everybody Wants Some!!” It made the vibe great.
What we got on tape from Dave was always memorable. His ad-libs were hilarious. He interjected all of these X-rated asides during the song’s breakdown. Donn and I sat in the control room and cracked up, listening to all of these lines that Dave put on tape. The three other guys were out in the studio having a blast too, while Dave’s spouting all of this stuff. Dave’s tongue-in-cheek approach to recording that song kept us all loose. Of course we had to edit out almost all of his lines, but you can still get a taste of them on the record. He was just a genius when it came to all of this stuff.
From Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer’s Life in Music. Used with permission by ECW Press.
Hear Van Halen Perform ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’
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