Ice Cream Man
John Brim Lyrics

@stevemineer2857

@@jameshendee4489 20+? Not even close. Try 8 in 40 years in which half were on one album.The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Zeppelin, Aerosmith, I can go on and on, recorded far more covers. Nice try, though.

@rrheipel

@@jameshendee4489 Doing covers is not a bad thing. Look at the Foo Fighters. They do covers all the time. They are musicians and appreciate other artists' creations and put their own spin on it. Besides, Van Halen wrote 90% of the songs they recorded.

@mysterymann2439

This is my granddaddy John Brim. Beebo I was with him in his last days. I miss you old man

@RockandrollNegro

I played with your grandaddy a few times. Good man, great singer.

@kellyjay7448

I met your granddaddy when Tom Moore brought him to South Bend. Then I followed him to Grand Rapids and got to sit in for a number. Then a couple of years later I met him again in Indianapolis and he remembered me! He was a great guy!

He told me he used to play in South Bend back in the '50s with Jimmy Reed.

@terriebrim-leslie4880

Kelly Jay ...Yes him and Jimmy Reed was great friends...I'm Beebo's Mom, Terrie...John's daughter. Jimmy Reed use to come over all the time to my Mom's house, Grace. I'm glad you met him...he was a pretty cool guy...😀😀😀

@jeffreese4194

What year did he record this?

@michaelmittelsdorf

@@jeffreese4194 "Ice Cream Man" was recorded in 1953 but not released until 1969.

@8House

I saw John Brim play at a club on Lincoln Ave in Chicago late 1976. He was kind enough to speak to me between sets. I enjoyed hearing him talk about the good old days in the early and mid 50's, the golden age of Chicago blues. I'm thankful he took the time to engage me in a few minutes of conversation. He wasn't flashy, his manner was calm and dignified.

@kellyjay7448

8House He was a real classy gent!

@paulr.4968

Great story.

@austinduplantis299

I was just thinking that this was Chicago blue’s rather then Delta Blue’s. Thanks for pointing it out. I’m attempting to cultivate the distinction between the two! Beautiful song and I think Van Halen does it great justice IMO

@jaybirdk7414

David Lee Roth used to cover this song in his pre-Van Halen band, the Redball Jets. When Van Halen were fleshing out their first LP, Roth brought it to the table. In fact, Dave played the acoustic guitar in the first half of the song (tuned in open E, at that).

Good song, no matter whodunnit!

@bartborganelli7301

jaybird74 you are spot on!... These people (simpletons) have no idea what a great band VH was, DLR as the best front man, and EVH was/is one of the best RHYTHM guitarists to ever have graced this planet -- not to even mention his lead work! ALL of the eighties bands would have never evolved without VH's never-been-heard-of before insight (at the time). To create techniques and even have the capacity to CONCEIVE such work, let alone be able to lay it down with minimal effects and be able to (almost) recreate it live as if you were laying the track(s) down in the studio, makes him a modern day virtuoso. Over he next 100 years, he his name will be up there with Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, Stratvri, etc. I think you get my drift.

@gregflorko8402

Yep. I noticed that Dave uses open E when I saw a video of them doing it live. The original is in A. Strangely, for all the unconventional things Eddie did, he never went for the alternate tuning thing much, other than some drop D, i.e. Unchained.

@stringbender11672

Correct on the open Eb major tuning.

@billbishop4067

@@stringbender11672 Technically open Eb. Edward always tuned half step down

@stpaulimdog

I never knew Dave played the first part of this!

@jscottsmith2303

The Van Halen version is almost unrecognizable from this. It would be something else if they just did a carbon copy, but they reinvented it and always gave credit. That’s exactly how you should do a cover song.

@Orcinus1967

Today one would not say 'I got something for you little girl'. Definitely not PC. Perhaps that was too much even back when VH covered the song.

@GameboyFanatic

@@Orcinus1967 They said it because girls are shorter than dudes

@Orcinus1967

@@GameboyFanatic Yeah that's it. LOL. Has nothing to do with young girls naivete.

@jgsrhythm100

Yes but what is lame is 95% are oblivious its a cover. Counltess more examples of the same. Could list at least 20 off the top of my head
How about Aerosmith - Big Ten Inch ( a cover).

@bornonsouthside3094

Here's the info: recorded on May 4, 1953 in Chicago, IL; John Brim, voc, guitar;
Little Walter, harmonica; Eddie Taylor, guitar; Elga Edmonds, drums

@Orneryone

I was pretty sure that was Little Walter.

@alexanderdimitrov9045

@@Orneryone Yes, some musicians you recognize by the first tone they play.

@paulr.4968

Thanks 4 backstory.

@catdaddy3302

Eddie Taylor 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@RigidRecords69

It's cool they were doing VH covers in '53

@dia480

hey he forget to say Daves got something for you??  Lol

@farazr4255

LMAO!!!! :)

@docnasty74

Lol.

@paulr.4968

Ahh, touché ❗️

@vegangabriel

Hahaha

@gipbwok2008

and "oh I never stop" after "11 o'clock"😂

@MattProductions2012

Why y'all hating on VH? They put a kickass cover on it and it puts a modern more R&R vibe to it. This version is a blues sounding classic.

@user-bd4ov5fx1l

Oh, i saw this comment too. Your kickass Van Halen cover is just a fake-metal FM radio-pop-rock version of the classic old electric and rocking original.
The old was rock, the VH was bubblegum.
We hate commercial posers, we hate fake-metal, we are not good people and we can't love everything, that's all.

@robertbeasley5170

You damn right!

@robertbeasley5170

Robert Beasley Van Halen did a great job on that song.

@Ednerd

MattProductions2012 yes. if you are into pure blues listen to John Brim. If you are into balls to the wall rock listen to VH. It's very simple, both can be appreciated for what they are.

who's "we"?

@zboys4586

Van Halen brought me here .

@georgeacklin7849

Thank the people that come before you no matter what subject we're talking about. If it wasn't for those people from the beginning of time on this earth we would not experience all the things we know of today. Thank You John Charles Brim for all of your musical talents. I do prefer the Van Halen version but there are thousands of cover songs no matter what time frame in history that have been released since the beginning of music being recorded.

@robertthwaites3007

John Brim 1968, Tom Waits 1973, Van Halen 1976 - it's all good 🙂 The version I prefer depends on my mood at the time.

@TheTamtam76

VAN HALEN BROUGHT ME HERE

@goldenbutterrevue517

Wow, is Little Walter ever great on this!! He gives the song a beautiful sense of motion. One of my favorite Walter performances. Ensemble work at its very best. I like the singing too, but as a harmonica player I can't listen to this without being fixated on Little Walter.

@christaputt4041

I was honored to see him and spend time with him in his later years. He was a true gentleman.

@timessquarerecordscom1469

Top ten blues songs of all time....my opinion amazing that they didn't release this...

@JoshY01

Man Eddie did this one justice!!!

@durandjohnson1321

This is the best version!

@alphadogstudio

I'm sure Mr.Brim enjoyed the royalty checks.

@melamineflorentine8134

hope he got some lord knows how the publishing worked but its the thought that counts & a tip of the hat to blues by way of acknowledging Dave's diamond star power was a most welcome gesture!

@TheJackflash85

Great Song ! Gimmie the Blues ! R&B - Cool !

@RunnerAdonisThunder

Excellent!

@briancarr4607

Van halen did a lot of covers and were good at making them different in their own style like you really got me need I say more

@craigmccauley3972

Cool blues!

@davidpritchard7174

The coolest grandfather..that it.

@snowcrest7863

Great old-school Blues sound. Hope he got a lot of royalties from Van Halen

@bluesdjnij

thank you Mr Brim

@b.rodclark7349

Van Halen lit my blues/rock fire with this remake

@dinadifrancesco-bayless6429

I like both versions but love VH and their version. VH did some of the best covers ever.

@jeromelafayettenarramore966

Love them both! Who f’ing cares!? Music is love, and that’s all that matters!

@fiddlinround1549

Little Walter on harmonica

@SnowDogRedSectorEh

cool that he covered this Van Halen song. ..

@mindtricky

:)

@IRex-wm9pd

Dont troll the purists. They are already annoying enough.

@DurandMj

The other way around, John brim wrote and composed this in 1953!

@jaden243

r/woooosh

@gipbwok2008

Like it was cool that the Kinks covered Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" 😂

@dizzygunner

People complaining about the VH version is just silly, even if you don't like it you can't deny they made it their own instead of it being a lazy cover.

@Eight8leu

Very nice

@nyyanx23

Thank God Van Halen did a bitchin cover of this great tune. Otherwise no one would have ever known about it.

@roberthanson579

I knew this song before VH butchered it. My brother had it on a compilation LP when I was a little kid. When you say "no one would have ever known about it", you're simply wrong. Because YOU wouldn't have known about it, doesn't mean no one else would.

@tinyb4165

Obviously, VH knew about it. So I guess that means that other people did know about it. It's not like they dug very deep in the vaults to discover music themselves.

@paulr.4968

@@roberthanson579 Aw go pound sand, ya baby. 🍼

@mrfahrenheit677

@@roberthanson579 i love when morons like you dont understand what a cover is. its that band interpretation of that song with THEIR sound. thats not butchering it, that just means you dont like the hard rock version.

@durandjohnson1321

The original 1953 version!

@paulr.4968

Why has this become a forum to hate Van Halen❓ It doesn’t make anyone sound more “musically mature”.

@MrBROTHERFELDER

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"
(But I think Caucasian artists should make it a point to mention where their songs came from)

@frinkmhey

I think Van Halen did give credit.

@alagogo

Van halen did give credit .

@Ednerd

MrBROTHERFELDER why is that? are you saying black artist should not be held to the same standards???

@MrBROTHERFELDER

Good point Ednerd, everyone should give credit where it's due.

@nhrocker2765

MrBROTHERFELDER there are only 8 notes. But I agree that folks like Led Zep and VH would acknowledge their roots..

@TheTamtam76

Never knew this was a cover..laugh if you will..but im 43 and i know a lot about vh..

@johncrawford

I JUST found out today and I’m 52! I almost spit my drink out. Thank God for YouTube

@woelchar1797

i just found out today, been listening to this song for a couple years

@davecussons8195

I’m 50, been listening to it for 30 years and only just found out!

@jameshendee4489

I call Van halen "The World's Greatest Cover Band"... every album has several covers of someone else's music...

@mrfahrenheit677

@@jameshendee4489 yes, this is well known. what are you implying? you know every band does covers right?

@earldeanpowell

Those hating VH for "stealing." Knife cuts both ways. What's Brim playing? UH OH, guess who invented and developed electric guitars? Oh SNAP! Put the hate aside, let the art preside.

@greenejeenes8389

😃 You can't steal the electric guitar any more than you can steal the piano. Instrument development and use is different than song copyrights. Besides it's not Van Halen who developed the electric guitar. Who do you think that was anyway, and what does it have to do with John Brim?

@5rings16

@@greenejeenes8389 It has to do with cultural apropriation. Nobody ever scolds black people for wearing clothes invented by white people but for some reason music is inapropriate to apropriate.

@greenejeenes8389

@@5rings16 Doesn't change a thing. There were stringed instruments going back in history to all types of people. The guitar is just one version. You can't compare using the guitar with covering someone's else's song and taking credit for it. When Black artists cover something and don't give credit, they also get shade. As long as proper credit is given that doesn't happen in music - unless the cover is terrible. Then you still get shade. But, in this case, the OP wants to give credit only to the creator of the instrument a song was played on. That's crazy.

@5rings16

@@greenejeenes8389 You missed the point! Cultural appropriation is a 2 way street. Blacks also appropriate white culture every day.

@5rings16

It isnt just about copyrights!

@merlinjones6485

I like.

@Learntheharmonica

Is that Little Walter on harp?

@bornonsouthside3094

Yes.

@bornonsouthside3094

Why do you show lyrics from the VH cover? They are slightly altered from the original version we are listening to.

@rattmahem

Why would your publish the wrong lyrics?

@daviddaigle2419

I played that for my friend younger than me he thought van Halen did it and now he thinks he a country star,

@Research-eo3bi

N O ... W A Y ... A ...!

@davidnorthrop2298

Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers

@billysuberalles1634

you people hate van halen, but can you people play like van halen?

@truchero11

Not me. Never wanted to either.

@wilfredfreytes9384

Ironic...that there is lot of hate for VH...but I'm here listening to this because of VH!!!

@bhaltazhar105

KaBo$h!

@rizvif

If you read the description...it has van halen's words in it lol

@user-bd4ov5fx1l

Van Halen version is horrible.

@rizvif

Actually I agree with you.

@dnl4ever666

@@user-bd4ov5fx1l Your musical taste is what’s horrendously horrible

@MontourR

Off topic but why do so many people not like Van Halen

@timmoore8773

Damn I thought VH wrote this?

@gbxpert

Van Halogen was all brightness, loudness, and noise.

@johnklein6040

Hmmm......i thought the Van Halen version was an original.....ooops. Lol.

@lowellthomasjr.468

Dey jus don lak Choklit, dass all ! lol

@marinopirulli4096

Out of all the songs vh covered before their first album like zz top, deep purple, led zepplin etc (I know they did you really got me) but they chose this one??????

@DonnieConn

Just another example of old blues players ripping off modern rock singers.

@MetallicAssault

So all of the sudden Van Halen is Garbage, fake metal(it wasn't supposed to be metal anyway), bubblegum, posers... I mean, i can understand someone not liking the band at all but are you serious?
Don't you think someone who shows his influences in a modern (for 1978) rock band for the by then young generation should have more respect?
Basically you hate the band for not sounding like classic blues and being succesful? Is that what you're saying?
Or is this just a non clever way to let us know that you didn't know the song because of Van Halen's version because you're sooo special?
This version is great. I'ts an original, you don't mess with originals. Plus it is blues. You can't go wrong with that, it will alwasy be kickass. But calling Van Halen Garbage is like calling your own mother a whore.

@ricardopereznajera2596

Van Halen Made the original version

@truchero11

No

@nilshaller5917

@@truchero11 hes joking lmao

@gipbwok2008

Like in their time machine? 😂

@Whiteyholmes08

What a great song! No wonder Van Halen covered it…

@mykecallahan4141

This guy is ripping off Van Halen! I hope they sue him.

@user-bd4ov5fx1l

Great song, sadly the garbage Van Halen version has millions of views.

@dvdfrnzwbr

I never knew that VH covered it from this artist until I researched VH cover songs.

@Wisconsin222

D22 GET OUT VAN HALEN IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ROCK BANDS EVER, PUT ON A SWEET LIVE SHOW, AND EDDIE VAN HALEN IS THE GREATEST GUITARIST EVER TO ME SO DO NOT REFER TO THEM AS GARBAGE

@MattProductions2012

d22 quit living in the past, VH was WAY more successful than John was. Sorry to bring you thrusts but sometimes you gotta face the facts.

@user-bd4ov5fx1l

MattProductions2012 No doubt, nobody knows John Brim, everybody knows Van Halen. Lady Gaga and Jay-Z. I always know that, i see it every day and every moment.

@misong3708

Wow, "garbage" Van Halen version?  How come you don't mention that Mr. Brim was able to open a nightclub in the early '80's in Chicago with the royalties he earned from Van Halen's "garbage" cover of it (also from the J. Geils Band covering his song "Be Careful").