Van Halen discography
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Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
was an American
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band formed in
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...
in 1972 by the Dutch-born American brothers
Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...
(guitar) and
Alex Van Halen Alexander Arthur Van Halen (; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the Rock music, rock band Van Halen. The band was formed in 1972 by Alex Van Halen, his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie, ...
(drums), plus singer
David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...
and bassist Michael Anthony. The band's discography consists of 12 studio albums, two
live albums An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...
, two
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s, and 56
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
. The band signed a contract with
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
in 1977, and in the following year released the album ''
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
''. Over the next few years, the band alternated album releases, one per year between 1979 and 1982, and touring to increasing commercial and critical acclaim, becoming one of the world's most successful and influential rock bands. In 1984, Van Halen released ''
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
'', which peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and had the band's sole No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "
Jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump St ...
". After the tour promoting that album, Roth left the band due to artistic and personal tensions with Eddie. To replace Roth, Eddie picked
Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...
, formerly of Montrose and at that time a very successful solo artist. Van Halen's first album with Hagar, 1986's '' 5150'', was the band's first No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The three studio albums that followed, ''
OU812 ''OU812'' (pronounced "Oh You Ate One Too") is the eighth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1988 and is the band’s second album to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. Van Halen began work on the album in September 1987 ...
'', ''
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge ''For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge'' (often abbreviated as F.U.C.K.) is the ninth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on June 17, 1991, on Warner Bros. Records and is the third to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. It debute ...
'' and ''
Balance Balance or balancing may refer to: Common meanings * Balance (ability) in biomechanics * Balance (accounting) * Balance or weighing scale * Balance as in equality or equilibrium Arts and entertainment Film * ''Balance'' (1983 film), a Bulgarian ...
'', also topped the charts. In 1996, Hagar left Van Halen amidst similar tension with the Van Halen brothers. Roth rejoined briefly and recorded two songs with the band for the 1996 compilation '' Best Of – Volume I'', but Van Halen eventually settled on
Gary Cherone Gary Francis Caine Cherone ( ; born July 26, 1961) is an American rock singer and songwriter. Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme and Van Halen. He has also released solo recordings. In 2007, he ...
, frontman of the then defunct
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
-based band Extreme. Cherone's sole release with the band was ''
Van Halen III ''Van Halen III'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on March 17, 1998, by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Mike Post and Eddie Van Halen, it was the band's first studio album in three years after ''Balance'' ...
'', released in 1998 to mixed reviews and diminishing sales, being the only Van Halen studio album not to get a platinum
RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets.
. Van Halen's last release for Warner was the 2004 compilation '' Best of Both Worlds'', which featured three new songs with Hagar. In 2011, the band left the label and signed with
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
. In February 2012, Van Halen released its twelfth and final studio album, ''
A Different Kind of Truth ''A Different Kind of Truth'' is the twelfth and final studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on February 7, 2012, by Interscope Records, this is Van Halen's only studio album on Interscope and its first full-length album of stu ...
'', featuring Roth on vocals and Eddie's son
Wolfgang Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...
on bass guitar. The album debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, and became the band's highest-charting album on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
with a sixth spot. , Van Halen has sold 75 million albums worldwide Press Release
Announcing 2004 Van Halen Concert Tour
and have thirteen No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
chart. During the 1980s, they, along with the band Heart, had more ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits, fifteen, than any other hard rock or heavy metal band. According to the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, Van Halen is the 19th best-selling music group/artist of all time with sales of over 56 million albums in the US, and is one of five rock bands that have had two albums (''Van Halen'' and ''1984'') sell more than ten million copies in the US.Christie, Ian (2009) ''Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga''. "When Van Halen reached RIAA diamond certification in August 1996, marking over ten million copies sold, Van Halen became one of five rock bands with two albums selling over ten million, joining
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
, and
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...
."


Albums


Studio albums


Live albums


Compilation albums


Singles

Notes * 1 ^ UK and NL position for 1980 re-release * A ^ released in Japan * B ^ released in some European territories * C ^ released in Europe and Japan * D ^ released in the Netherlands


Videos


References


External links

* {{Van Halen
Discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...
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