Somebody Get Me a Doctor

"Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
Single by Van Halen
from the album Van Halen II
B-side"Women in Love..."
ReleasedAugust 1979 (Japan)
RecordedDecember 1978 – January 1979
GenreHard rock
Length2:52
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth
Producer(s)Ted Templeman
Van Halen singles chronology
"Dance the Night Away"
(1979) 		"Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
(1979) 		"Beautiful Girls"
(1979)

"Somebody Get Me a Doctor" is a 1979 song by Van Halen. It is the third song on their second album, Van Halen II.

The main riff for the song had already been composed by 1974, as evidenced by a home recording.[1] "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" was one of the first Van Halen songs to be written, alongside "Runnin' With the Devil", and it was included on a 1976 demo arranged by Gene Simmons of Kiss.[2] It was one of the early favorites of their stage show. However, it was not selected to be included on their first album by producer Ted Templeman. According to Eddie Van Halen, the song is about "being high and feeling good and ODing and stuff like that."[3]

The song was only released as a single in Japan.[4] Author Chuck Klosterman ranked it the 23rd-best Van Halen song, calling it "something close to an adrenalized Tony Iommi riff with a Randy Rhoads solo jammed up the gullet."[5] Rolling Stone included it on its list of the 20 Insanely Great Van Halen Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know, calling it "the loud and loose climax of Van Halen II" and praising David Lee Roth's vocals, saying he "has rarely squealed, squawked and screamed as exuberantly, as he does here while celebrating his own near demise."[6] Rolling Stone Australia listed "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" as among Eddie Van Halen's top 20 guitar solos.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ Dodds, Kevin (2011). Edward Van Halen: a Definitive Biography. iUniverse. p. 29. ISBN 978-1462054817.
  2. ^ Dodds 2011, p. 34
  3. ^ Guitar World Presents Van Halen. Hal Leonard Corporation. 2010. p. 45. ISBN 978-0879309695.
  4. ^ "Van Halen Somebody Get Me A Doctor Japan PROMO 7" PS". Backwood Records. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Klosterman, Chuck (October 6, 2020). "All 131 Van Halen Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best A look back at the band's formidable legacy". Vulture.com. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  6. ^ Beaujour, Tom (October 13, 2019). "20 Insanely Great Van Halen Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  7. ^ Bienstock, Richard; Beaujour, Tom; Grow, Kory (October 7, 2020). "Eddie Van Halen's 20 Greatest Solos". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved October 19, 2020.