And the Cradle Will Rock...
| "And the Cradle Will Rock..." | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Van Halen | ||||
| from the album Women and Children First | ||||
| B-side |
Everybody Wants Some!! "Loss of Control" | |||
| Released | May 1980 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | December 1979-February 1980[1] | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 3:31 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer(s) | Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth. | |||
| Producer(s) | Ted Templeman | |||
| Van Halen singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"And the Cradle Will Rock..." is a song written and performed by Van Halen. It appears on their 1980 album Women and Children First. It was one of two singles from the album; the other is the B-side "Everybody Wants Some!!". It is also the first song released by the band that featured the keyboard playing of Eddie Van Halen.
Composition
The song begins with what sounds like a guitar, but is, in fact, a phase shifter-effected Wurlitzer electric piano played through Eddie Van Halen's 1960s model 100-watt Marshall Plexi amplifier.[2] During live performances on the 1980 tour, Michael Anthony would play the keyboards. For some of the shows on the 2007-2008 Van Halen tour David Lee Roth said, "Have you seen Wolfie's grades?" instead of the recording's "Have you seen junior's grades?" line; "Wolfie" referring to Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son and bassist for the band since 2006.
Eric Carr of Kiss played "And the Cradle Will Rock..." along with Van Halen's cover of "You Really Got Me" as part of his audition tape, which successfully led to his becoming the new drummer for Kiss.[3]
References
- ↑ "AesthetiX Choice: Top 20 Van Halen Songs". Listal.com. Listal.com. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ↑ "And The Cradle Will Rock...". Van Halen News Desk. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ↑ "ERIC CARR's Original KISS Audition Tape Being Auctioned". Blabbermouth.com. Retrieved 24 April 2015.