• Writers: Van Halen
• Producer: Ted Templeman
• Recorded: 1977 at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California
• Released: 1978
• Players:
  David Lee Roth — vocals
  Edward Van Halen — guitar
  Alex Van Halen — drums
  Michael Anthony — bass
• Album: Van Halen (Warner Bros., 1978)
• Also On:
  Best Of, Volume 1 (Warner Bros., 1996)
  The Best Of Both Worlds (Warner Bros., 2004)
• “Runnin’ With The Devil” was the second single released from Van Halen‘s self-titled debut album. Following up the Top 40 hit “You Really Got Me,” “Runnin’ With The Devil” only made it to Number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 while becoming a radio and concert staple.
• Edward and Alex Van Halen were born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. They moved to Southern California when they were pre-teenagers.
• Though both Edward and Alex were classically trained on the piano, they opted for rock-and-roll once they were exposed to American radio.
• Initially, Alex tried to learn to play the guitar and Edward played drums.
• Before Van Halen signed with Warner Bros. Records, Kiss singer Gene Simmons scouted the band and had them make a demo recording, but he declined to help get them signed to a recording contract.
• With David Lee Roth as their lead singer, Van Halen reached the Top 40 seven times, charting highest with their 1984 hit “Jump.”
• The biggest hit from their debut album was a cover of the Kinks‘ “You Really Got Me,” which reached Number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• The Van Halen album reached Number 19 on the Billboard 200 chart and has sold well over 10 million copies.

FAST FORWARD:

• David Lee Roth left the band in 1984 and was replaced by Sammy Hagar, who parted ways with Van Halen in 1996 and was replaced by Extreme frontman Gary Cherone. Cherone left the band in November 1999.
• Roth and the group had a brief “reunion” in 1996 that resulted in two tracks — “Can’t Get This Stuff No More” and “Me Wise Magic” — which were released on their greatest-hits album Best Of, Volume 1.
• In the past few years, Eddie Van Halen has undergone treatment for cancer and hip-replacement surgery.
• Roth and Hagar united for a successful tour in 2002