31 Days of Halloween Hits: "Runnin' with the Devil" by Van Halen

by Julian Spivey
As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! 
 
That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. 

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Photo: Warner Bros.

“Runnin’ with the Devi” was really the world’s first taste of Van Halen, as the second single off their self-titled debut album in 1978 as the first single “You Really Got Me” was a rather straight-forward cover of a ‘60s hit by The Kinks.
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It helped usher in a new hard rock sound of the late ‘70s that would go into the ‘80s and essentially turn into the hair band music of that decade.

Honestly the song is a good pick for your Halloween playlist simply because it includes “devil” in the title and, well, Halloween is the most devilish of Holidays (well, I guess that depends on how hardcore you’re into Columbus Day). It’s also a good pick in tribute to the recently deceased guitar legend Eddie Van Halen, who died on October 6 at age 65 from cancer.

Some of the song’s lyrics have been misinterpreted as being satanic over the years, but “Runnin’ with the Devil” is merely a tale of a young band’s touring life and the freedom that comes with it.

“Runnin’ with the Devil” is often played with “Eruption,” its B-side on the single (as well as with “You’ve Really Got Me,” as it segues into that song on the album), a minute and 42 second instrumental that many critics and fans alike believe to be one of the greatest, if not absolute greatest, guitar solos of all-time. 

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