Watch 22 Different Versions of ‘Panama’ by Van Halen and Their Many Lead Singers

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

When Van Halen rolled out a new song called “Panama” in 1984, some fans surely felt this was the moment the band behind “Dance the Night Away” and “Beautiful Girls” were finally getting political. After all, Panama was a global hotspot that decade, thanks to the death of military leader Omar Torrijos in 1981, the rise of Manuel Noriega in 1983, and a fraudulent election in the spring of 1984 that would ultimately set the stage for a U.S. invasion five years later.

Needless to say, the four members of Van Halen had no absolutely no interest in any of this. Over the years, David Lee Roth has claimed that “Panama” is about a drag racer called the Panama Express or the singer’s 1969 Opel Kadett Caravan wagon, nicknamed Panama. Roth isn’t the world’s most reliable narrator, but he says he wrote the song after a critic accused the band of only making songs about “women, partying, and fast cars.” They hadn’t yet written an actual fast car song, so Roth says he willed one into existence. Then again, lyrics like “Here she comes, full blast and top down” and “Out an on-ramp coming through my bedroom” seem to pretty clearly have a double meaning similar to Prince’s “Little Red Corvette.”

We’ll likely never know the exact origin story of the song, but we can say for sure that it’s a perfect distillation of the Van Halen sound in just three minutes and 30 seconds. If someone who never heard Van Halen before wanted to understand the band, this is the song to play them. It’s a sleek showcase for the talents of all four members. 

That’s probably why they played it at virtually every concert after they wrote it, and why Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth both had it in their live show this past year. They don’t agree on much, but they agree that “Panama” really works live. Here’s a look back at 22 versions of the song. Ease your seat back, and come along with us for the ride.

• The Original Studio Recording (1984)

  Image Credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images

  “Panama” was the third single from Van Halen’s 1984, following “Jump” and “I’ll Wait.” That first single hit Number 1 and transformed Van Halen into the biggest hard rock band in America. “Panama” stalled at Number 13 on the Hot 100, but it was still a major presence on MTV and rock radio. Like most Van Halen videos of the time, it’s not exactly high concept. It shows the group playing an arena concert, swinging from cables attached to the ceiling, and chugging beer, as well as Roth motorcycling down a street, and doing a bizarre pole dance next to twin versions of himself. If you’re looking for a deep meaning to any of this, it’s not there. And at no point do we see a race car.