10 Songs That Broke Up Bands
7. Dancing in the Street - Van Halen
Van Halen's power was always in the collective rather than any one member. For as much as David Lee Roth may have lit up the stage or the Van Halen brothers blew audiences away with their musicianship, the band always worked best when coming together to write a kickass hard rock tune. However, the first signs of the Roth era not going the distance turned up on Diver Down, with one of the most questionable covers of the band's career.
It's not like the band are terrible at cover songs though. Throughout their career, they have been able to transform tracks like "Ice Cream Man" and "You're No Good" into phenomenal performances, with their version of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" becoming a hit all by itself. The band looked like they were doubling down on that with this album, but their version of the Martha and the Vandella's smash "Dancing in the Street" feels more like a showcase for David Lee Roth than a heartfelt rendition.
The original version was already a passable Motown hit upon release, but the way Roth sells this song with as much passion as he does just sounds cheesy by comparison. Van Halen were still on top of the world, but given that this song was clearly the David Lee Roth Show featuring Van Halen, the writing was on the wall.