"Somebody Get Me a Doctor" is a 1979 song by Van Halen. It is the third song on their second album, ''

Van Halen II ''Van Halen II'' is the second studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on March 23, 1979, it peaked at number six on the ''Billboard'' 200 and spawned the singles " Dance the Night Away" and " Beautiful Girls". As of 2004, it has so ...

''. The main riff for the song had already been composed by 1974, as evidenced by a home recording. "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" was one of the first Van Halen songs to be written, alongside "

Runnin' With the Devil "Runnin' with the Devil" is a song by the American hard rock band Van Halen. Released as the second single from the band's 1978 eponymous debut album. The song lyrics were inspired by the funk band Ohio Players 1974 song "Runnin' from the Devil ...

", and it was included on a 1976 demo arranged by

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

of Kiss. It was one of the early favorites of their stage show. However, it was not selected to be included on their first album by producer Ted Templeman. According to

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...

, the song is about "being high and feeling good and ODing and stuff like that." The song was only released as a single in Japan. Author Chuck Klosterman ranked it the 23rd-best Van Halen song, calling it "something close to an adrenalized Tony Iommi riff with a Randy Rhoads solo jammed up the gullet." '' Rolling Stone'' included it on its list of the 20 Insanely Great Van Halen Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know, calling it "the loud and loose climax of Van Halen II" and praising

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...

's vocals, saying he "has rarely squealed, squawked and screamed as exuberantly, as he does here while celebrating his own near demise." ''Rolling Stone Australia'' listed "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" as among Eddie Van Halen's top 20 guitar solos.

Notes

{{Van Halen 1979 singles Van Halen songs Songs about drugs Songs written by Alex Van Halen Songs written by Eddie Van Halen Songs written by Michael Anthony (musician) Songs written by David Lee Roth