The Kinks (Ray and Dave Davies, Peter Quaife and Mick Avory) peaked at number seven on Billboard and topped the U.K. charts with "You Really Got Me" (Ray Davies) in 1964. The single showed up on their debut self-titled album.

Van Halen's (David Lee Roth, Eddie and Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony) cover of "You Really Got Me" was released in 1978 and inched into the top forty while the album hit the top twenty. Like the Kinks, the track is from their self-titled debut album and this was Van Halen's first single.