Van Halen Releases “Van Halen”– February 10, 1978
 Posted
2/10/2013 12:00:00 AM
Van Halen Releases “Van Halen”– February 10, 1978
Conversation Starters
- Van Halen’s debut album was released 35 years ago today! What’s the best song off the album?
- Van Halen’s very first album came out today in 1978! Which debut album would you consider the greatest?
- Back in ’78, Van Halen released their very first album! Which of their LPs is your absolute favorite?
Fast Facts
- US Release Date: February 10, 1978 via Warner Bros. Records
- Produced by: Ted Templeman
- The album took three weeks and $40,000 to produce
- Production had to be rushed on the album because guitarist Eddie Van Halen accidently let the band Angel hear their cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” before it was released and both bands rushed to put out the song
- 25 songs in total were considered for the album
- The noise at the beginning of “Runnin’ With The Devil” is a collection of car horns which included horns from Alex Van Halen’s Opel and Eddie Van Halen’s Volvo
- On the demo version of “You Really Got Me” David Lee Roth missed his entrance on the second verse so the band had to cover for him
- Eddie felt that “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” was his “lamest” song and reportedly it took him six months to work up the courage to bring it to the rest of the band
- Rapper Tone Loc famously sampled Eddie’s guitar riff on “Jamie’s Cryin’” for his 1989 hit “Wild Thing”
- “Jamie’s Cryin’” is the only song off the album to be written in the studio and only took about 20 minutes to write
- The album appears as #415 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Billboard
- The album peaked at #19 on the Billboard charts
- “Runnin’ With The Devil” peaked at #84 and “You Really Got Me” peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100
RIAA
- The album was certified 10X Multi-Platinum in 1996
Track Listing
- Runnin’ With The Devil
- Eruption
- You Really Got Me
- Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
- I’m The One
- Jamie’s Cryin’
- Atomic Punk
- Feel Your Love Tonight
- Little Dreamer
- Ice Cream Man
- On Fire
Hit Singles
- “Runnin’ With The Devil”
- “You Really Got Me”
- “Jamie’s Cryin’”
- “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”
- “Eruption”
Videos
Links
Sources
Read more at Ultimate Classic Rock
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