In a captivating excerpt from Ted Templeman and Greg Renoff’s book Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer’s Life in Music, the iconic producer behind Van Halen’s first six albums shares the fascinating story of how an unplanned stage rap from lead singer David Lee Roth transformed into one of the band’s most cherished anthems.

The narrative unfolds with Templeman, who had already been instrumental in producing Van Halen’s first two groundbreaking albums, reconnecting with the band at the conclusion of their tour promoting Van Halen II. In this moment, he witnessed the spark of inspiration that would ignite one of the most significant tracks on their subsequent album, the 1980 release Women and Children First: 

At the tail end of their 1979 tour, I attended their electrifying show in Phoenix. I made it a point to see them live whenever possible because I discovered that I could capture little creative ideas that could be invaluable for their upcoming album. That particular evening, I found myself standing at the side of the stage, intently watching the performance. In between songs, Dave burst into an impromptu rap about all the attractive fans in the audience. He exclaimed something along the lines of, “You Arizona guys out there are among the luckiest! But hey, I totally understand! Everybody wants some, and I want some too! How about all of you?”

The audience erupted with excitement.

After the show, I headed backstage, eagerly grabbing Dave and saying, “Make sure to jot that down in your notebook. That’s a fantastic idea for a song.” This marked the initial spark for “Everybody Wants Some!!”

The evolution of that song serves as a prime illustration of our collaborative working dynamic. During that time, Ed had crafted a catchy melodic chorded intro that preceded the main riff of the song, which I initially thought was a solid idea when we worked on it in the basement. However, once we entered Sunset Sound in December 1979, I felt it was somewhat lackluster.

But given that it was all we had, we decided to stick with it for the initial tracking. I can’t recall what Dave’s original thoughts were for the song, but neither of us was particularly fond of them. So, when Dave asked, “Hey, Ted, do you have any ideas?” I reminded him of the lively rap I had heard him deliver in Phoenix. His eyes brightened with recognition. He exclaimed, “Oh yeah!”

He flopped into a chair and began scribbling on a notepad. In less than ten minutes, while Donn was fine-tuning the sound of Alex’s tom-toms, he produced lyrics that were strikingly close to what ultimately made it onto the album. I wasn’t surprised, as he possessed an extraordinary talent for generating words spontaneously. He had demonstrated this same skill with “Jamie’s Cryin’” back in 1977.

Read More: 10 Insights Gained from Ted Templeman’s Book

His last-minute writing bursts consistently yielded high-quality results, as what he created was both clever and distinctive. To top it all off, when he sang the words to me, he also had the melody in mind. When Dave was fully engaged like that, it was a dream scenario for a producer.

The song featured a sultry breakdown driven by Alex’s rhythmic jungle drums, which Dave enhanced with his unique vocal stylings. Listening to that brought me back to my childhood, reminiscing about the time I spent at my grandfather’s music store. I proposed that we borrow the drum intro from the Cadets’ classic track “Stranded in the Jungle.” They were a renowned R&B group from the fifties, and “Stranded” had been one of my favorite records during my youth.

Listen to the Cadets Perform ‘Stranded in the Jungle’

Alex’s drumbeat provided the perfect opener for the song, leading us to scrap Ed’s earlier chorded intro. Even though Dave’s initial vocal attempts were often rough around the edges, I always insisted on having him in the vocal booth while the other three members laid down their tracks together. I firmly believed that Dave needed to sing along with every single take. After some time, he would get into the groove, and Donn and I would capture some excellent performances from him on tape.

By the end of the recording process, we would compile his vocals from the various takes as needed or, if required, bring Dave back into the studio to fix any off-key notes from his live performances. This method of keeping the vocalist singing along while the instrumentalists recorded their foundational tracks was not a practice I applied with all of my other bands, but Ed, Al, and Mike thrived off of Roth’s energy as he performed his part.

I would observe him in the booth, listening to the other guys as they recorded. It was like having the Big Bad Wolf cartoon character not only in full view but also in the headphones of the other three band members, particularly during the recording of “Everybody Wants Some!!” This created an incredible atmosphere.

What we captured on tape from Dave was always unforgettable. His spontaneous ad-libs were downright hilarious. He injected a variety of X-rated comments during the song’s breakdown. Donn and I would be in the control room, laughing heartily as we listened to all the outrageous lines that Dave recorded. The other three members in the studio were having a blast too, while Dave kept throwing out all of this entertaining material. Dave’s cheeky approach to recording this song kept the entire atmosphere light and enjoyable. Naturally, a lot of his lines had to be edited out, but you can still get a taste of his wit on the record. He truly was a genius when it came to these creative moments.

From Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer’s Life in Music. Used with permission by ECW Press.

Listen to Van Halen Perform ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’