And the Cradle Will Rock...

For the 1937 musical, see The Cradle Will Rock. For the 1999 film, see Cradle Will Rock.

"And the Cradle Will Rock..." is a song written and performed by Van Halen. It appears on their 1980 album Women and Children First and was released as a single. It is also the first song released by the band that featured the keyboard playing of Eddie Van Halen.

"And the Cradle Will Rock..."
Single by Van Halen
from the album Women and Children First
B-side	"Could This Be Magic?" (U.S./Japan)[1] "Everybody Wants Some!!" (UK)
Released	April 1980 (1980-04) (US)[2]
Recorded	December 1979 – February 1980
Studio	Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood
Genre	Hard rock
Length	3:31
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Michael Anthony David Lee Roth Alex Van Halen Edward Van Halen
Producer(s)	Ted Templeman
Van Halen singles chronology
"Beautiful Girls" (1979) "And the Cradle Will Rock..." (1980) "So This Is Love?" (1981)
Audio
"And the Cradle Will Rock..." on YouTube

Composition

The song begins with what sounds like a guitar, but is, in fact, a flanger-effected Wurlitzer electric piano played through Eddie Van Halen's 1960s model 100-watt Marshall Plexi amplifier.^[3]

During live performances on the 1980 tour, Michael Anthony would play the keyboards.

Reception

Cash Box called the song a "tongue-in-cheek anthem," saying that "David Lee Roth's acrobatic vocal leaps are in fine form," that Eddie Van Halen provides "sonic lead guitar blasts" and that the song has "industrial strength rhythms."^[4]

Chuck Klosterman ranked it the 50th-best Van Halen song, writing "I’ve always found it a bit ponderous and uncompromisingly average, but I’ve also listened to it somewhere in the vicinity of 8,000 times."^[5]

Eric Carr of KISS played "And the Cradle Will Rock..." along with Van Halen's cover of "You Really Got Me" as part of his audition tape, which successfully led to his becoming the new drummer for KISS.^{[6][importance?]}

Charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
Canada (RPM)[7]	81
US Billboard Hot 100[8]	55