Dancing in the Street - 2015 Remaster

This was originally recorded by Motown group Martha & the Vandellas in 1965. It was written by Marvin Gaye along with songwriters Ivy Hunter and William Stevenson.

Van Halen was looking for a cover song to release as a single following their 1981 Invasion tour to fill the gap before their next album. Eddie Van Halen couldn't come up with a guitar riff for this in time, so they did "Pretty Woman" instead. They recorded "Dancing in the Street" with the album and released it at the same time.

This is one of the few songs that Eddie overdubbed his guitar on. Most Van Halen songs at the time were recorded live, with very little overdubbing, but it was the only way Eddie could get the textured sound he wanted.