10 Songs That Are Huge Outliers On Rock Albums
4. Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) - Diver Down (Van Halen)
Van Halen - the band that gave us tracks like Panama, Hot for Teacher, and Runnin' with the Devil - decided it would be a good idea to cover a song from 1924 that is popular with barbershop quartets.
Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) is a Dixieland-style jazz number about a man who was once famous for causing trouble, before the love of a good woman caused him to settle down.
The song had previously been sung by the likes of Peggy Lee and Ry Cooder, before one of the biggest rock bands of the 1980s gave it a go. And you know what? They absolutely smashed it.
David Lee Roth's raspy vocal fits this arrangement of the tune perfectly and the rest of the band do well to adapt their playing style. There's even a clarinet floating about throughout the song, courtesy of Eddie and Alex's father Jan Van Halen.
The song is a total standout from everything else on the album, which includes the group's versions of (Oh) Pretty Woman and Dancing in the Street.
Van Halen are really good at covers, aren't they?