You Really Got Me

Original by the Kinks, Cover by Van Halen

I chose this song to write about this week because I’m reading the book “Brothers” by Alex Van Halen. As you might guess, the book is about Alex and his brother Eddie growing up and becoming the great rock band Van Halen. You Really Got Me was the band’s first single, although the brothers were not happy about releasing a cover song as their introduction to the world.

The Kinks had released You Really Got Me in August of 1964. It was written by Kinks frontman Ray Davies and released as the band’s third single. Within a month, it topped the UK’s Record Retailer chart and stayed there for two weeks. It was released in the US the following month and made it to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Van Halen had been playing the song live during their come up in Pasadena and in the bars along the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. The band recorded the song for their debut album in 1978, though it was not intended to be the first single. Eddie had played a tape of their new songs for a friend Barry Brandt one night backstage at Whisky a Go Go. A week later, word had gotten around that Barry’s band Angel was recording the song You Really Got Me and Van Halen’s record label, Warner Brothers, didn’t want another band coming out with a cover of the same song the their artist was going to release. So Warner Brothers pushed the release and in January 1978 You Really Got Me was Van Halen’s first single off their debut self-titled album.

Van Halen’s version of You Really Got Me peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though not as high as the Kink’s original at number seven, the song did introduce Van Halen to the world through massive radio airplay.

Eddie Van Halen described the cover as simply an “updated” version of the Kink’s original. I agree and think it was also a true representation of what Van Halen was as a band at that time. Van Halen brought a new and innovative approach to rock music, which is exactly what they did to the song You Really Got Me.