Van Halen (album)

Van Halen
The album's cover artwork
Studio album by
Van Halen
ReleasedFebruary 10, 1978 (1978-02-10)
RecordedAugust 29 – October 4, 1977[1][2][3]
StudioSunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood[4]
Genre
Length35:34
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerTed Templeman
Van Halen chronology
Van Halen
(1978) 		Van Halen II
(1979)
Singles from Van Halen
  1. "You Really Got Me"
    Released: January 1978
  2. "Runnin' with the Devil"
    Released: April 1978
  3. "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love"
    Released: June 1978 (Japan)[7]
  4. "Jamie's Cryin'"
    Released: July 1978[8]
  5. "On Fire"
    Released: September 1978 (Japan)

Van Halen is the debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on February 10, 1978, by Warner Bros. Records. Widely regarded as one of the greatest debut albums in rock music,[9][10][11] and considered a progenitor of glam metal,[5][6] the album was a major commercial success, peaking at number 19 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart.[12] It has sold more than 10 million copies in the United States, receiving a Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and making it one of the best-selling albums in the country.[13]

Van Halen contains some of the band's most well-known songs, including "Runnin' with the Devil", "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love", "Jamie's Cryin'", their cover version of the Kinks' 1964 song "You Really Got Me", and the instrumental "Eruption"; written and played by guitarist Eddie Van Halen, it is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time and helped popularize two-handed tapping.[14] In 2020, the album was ranked number 292 in Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

  1. ^ Renoff 2015, p. 279.
  2. ^ Gill, Tolinski 2021, p. 55.
  3. ^ "Van Halen "Eruption" Work Order & You Really Got Me Mic Technique! Sunset Sound Roundtable". YouTube. Sunset Sound Recorders. November 21, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2023. [Brian Kehew]: In fact, on the original boxes it says Guitar Solo. Years later or months later it was scratched out, and they wrote Eruption and the catalog number of the Warner Brothers song. [Paul Camarata]: I actually have the invoice right here. This is the actual invoice, and yeah, as you can see, it's October 4th. They did Little Dreamer that day in Studio 1, and then they did Guitar Solo.
  4. ^ "Sunset Sound" (PDF). sunsetsound.com.
  5. ^ a b Michael Hann (June 11, 2011). "Van Halen invent hair metal". The Guardian.
  6. ^ a b Andrew Clark (February 10, 2021). "How Van Halen's Debut Album Invented Hair Metal". ThisIsDig.
  7. ^ "Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 866. ISBN 9780862415419.
  9. ^ "Readers' Poll: The Ten Greatest Debut Albums". Rolling Stone. April 3, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "100 Greatest Rock Debut Albums". digitaldreamdoor.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "The 10 Greatest Rock Debut Albums Of All Time". I Love Classic Rock. May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  12. ^ "Album Chart for 1978-05-27". Music Charts Archive. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  13. ^ "You searched for van halen - RIAA". RIAA.
  14. ^ "50 greatest guitar solos of all time". NME. November 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)