09/01/2025
ON THIS DATE:
January 9th 1984...Van Halen released their sixth studio album 1984. Despite repeated objections from David Lee Roth and Ted Templeman, Eddie Van Halen was itching to incorporate keyboards into the band's sound. In an effort to avoid their criticism, Eddie built a recording studio in his backyard (called 5150) and began working on the follow-up to Diver Down. The result was an album of smash hits that included Jump, Panama, I'll Wait, and Hot For Teacher (not to mention the album's opening one-minute synthesizer instrumental, which had been previously incorporated into Michael Anthony's bass solo on their '82 world tour).
Eddie had actually written the arrangement for "Jump" several years before 1984 was recorded, but Roth had rejected the now-famous synth riff for more than two years before finally agreeing to write lyrics to it. MCML###IV peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 (behind Michael Jackson's Thriller, which ironically featured an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo on "Beat It"), and is the second of two Van Halen albums to achieve RIAA Diamond status, selling over ten million copies in the U.S. alone. 🤘😎
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