"Ice Cream Man"

It's free cone day, but that doesn't make me crave frozen dairy products nearly as much as a song by Van Halen:

Van Halen, "Ice Cream Man" (live)


Written by Chicago bluesman John Brim, "Ice Cream Man" was a dirty little ditty that became immortalized on Van Halen's irreplaceable first album. David Lee Roth showcased his limited guitar playing abilities in the song's first quarter, while boasting (in as hushed a tone as he ever could get) of all his flavors that were "guaranteed to satisfy." At about the 1:10 mark, "Ice Cream Man" breaks into the kind of exuberance that catapulted Van Halen to the top of the arena rock heap. Eddie lets out a mind-boggling blues-metal solo, proving that a) this isn't Roth's show, and b) even when performing a simple blues song, Eddie Van Halen was reinventing the way people played guitar. The product is as irresistible as pralines & cream.