"Finish What Ya Started" is a song by
Van Halen taken from their 1988 album ''
OU812''.
Background
Despite the album being seemingly complete,
Eddie Van Halen came up with the riff at 2 in the morning and went down to his then-neighbor
Sammy Hagar to show it. Hagar let Eddie in, and the two played guitars in his balcony until they had a completed song. Once Eddie left, Hagar decided to write the lyrics despite being late at night. The theme wound up being unfulfilled sex, summed up by Hagar as "
blue balls".
Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga
' In the song, Eddie recorded his guitar part on a
Fender Stratocaster plugged direct into the studio mixing console. The song is one of only two Van Halen tracks featuring Hagar playing a rhythm guitar part, which he played on a
Gibson acoustic.
Music video
The official
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
for the song was directed by
Andy Morahan.
It features the band playing against a plain white background with quick cuts to women dancing. The version of the song on their 2004 compilation ''
The Best of Both Worlds'' stops midway through the outro, unlike the fade out on the ''OU812'' version.
Reception
''
Cash Box'' called it "a remarkable single...that owes more to
T-Rex and
Creedence
Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...
than to a
Whitesnake."
In 1988, the song peaked at #13 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #2 on the ''
Billboard''
rock chart.
In popular culture
The song was later used as theme music for the short-lived 1990 sitcom ''
Sydney'', which starred Eddie Van Halen's then-wife,
Valerie Bertinelli.
References
Further reading
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1987 songs
1988 singles
Country rock songs
Music videos directed by Andy Morahan
Songs written by Eddie Van Halen
Songs written by Alex Van Halen
Songs written by Michael Anthony (musician)
Songs written by Sammy Hagar
Van Halen songs
Warner Records singles