"Runnin' With the Devil" is the lead off track from Van Halen's 1978 Eponymous debut. The track fades in with the sound of a car horn. In many ways, this track is the song that started it all being the first song from the first album and that it sets the tone for the Van Halen attitude when David Lee Roth was the singer in the band. The song has the interesting distinction of being one of the few song from Van Halen's early days where Eddie Van Halen used a guitar overdub. The car horns at the beginning were taken from the band's cars and linked together with a battery. The song lyrics were inspired by the Ohio Players song "Runnin' from the Devil". [1] Van Halen is an American rock band formed in the early-1970s. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Van Halen is the self-titled debut album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1978 (see 1978 in music). ... David Lee Roth, (born October 10, 1954 in Bloomington, Indiana) is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and radio personality, best known for his work with the band Van Halen and his fast-talking, oversized personality. ... Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, (born January 26, 1955) is a virtuoso guitarist, classically-trained pianist, and founding member of the hard rock band Van Halen. ... The Ohio Players are a funk and R&B band whose heyday was in the mid- to late 1970s. ...