Maps of Music

5150 (1986)

Where the lyrics of 5150 take you, and where it was really made.

The album takes its name from Eddie Van Halen's home studio, which was itself named after a California term for a mentally disturbed person.

Key places

Eddie Van Halen's home studio, 5150 (1986)

Recording site TRS Studios — The album was recorded at 5150, Eddie Van Halen's home studio in Studio City, Los Angeles. The marker sits at city-center level, not on the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• 5150: seventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen
• Released March 24, 1986 on Warner Bros. Records
• First of four albums recorded with lead singer Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth
• Named after Eddie Van Halen's home studio, 5150
• The studio name comes from a California law enforcement term for a mentally disturbed person
• Hit number 1 on the Billboard 200, passing the band's previous album, 1984
• Remastered by Donn Landee and released October 6, 2023 as part of The Collection II

Background

• Finding a replacement for David Lee Roth was difficult for the band
• July 1985: a mechanic working on Eddie's Lamborghini referred Eddie to former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar
• Work on the album began in November 1985 and was finished in February 1986, one month before release
• Ted Templeman, producer of every earlier album, left to produce Roth's solo album Eat 'Em and Smile
• Donn Landee took over producer duties after serving as engineer on earlier albums

Recording

• Production sounded markedly different from the earlier albums, with the guitar sitting equal in the mix
• Recorded at 5150, Eddie Van Halen's home studio in Studio City, Los Angeles
• First Van Halen album with no instrumental tracks

Cover

• Art Deco depiction of Atlas kneeling with a mirror-polished metallic sphere on his shoulders
• The Van Halen logo wraps around the sphere
• Back cover shows Atlas collapsed with the sphere broken open, revealing the band inside

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972.
• The brothers Alex (b. 1953) and Eddie Van Halen (b. 1955) were born in Amsterdam, moved to Pasadena in 1962, and began playing together in the 1960s.
• The band went through the names Broken Combs, Trojan Rubber Co, Genesis, and Mammoth before becoming Van Halen in 1973.
• David Lee Roth joined as lead vocalist in 1972 and Michael Anthony joined on bass in 1974.

Members

• Eddie Van Halen (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Alex Van Halen (drums), David Lee Roth (lead vocals, 1974–1985), Michael Anthony (bass, 1974–2006).
• Sammy Hagar replaced Roth in 1985 and Gary Cherone replaced Hagar in 1996.
• Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son, replaced Anthony on bass in 2006.

Career

• The self-titled debut album (1978) reached No. 19 on the Billboard 200 and was later certified Diamond by the RIAA.
• The album 1984 (1984) produced 'Jump', the band's only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.
• With Hagar, the band released four U.S. number-one albums, including 5150 (1986) and OU812 (1988).
• Eddie Van Halen died of cancer on October 6, 2020; Wolfgang later confirmed the band had ended.
• The band has sold more than 80 million records worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Reviews were initially mixed, with the controversy over replacing Roth in the background
• The Village Voice's Robert Christgau gave the album a C+, a grade for a not disreputable performance that is most likely a failed experiment or pleasant hackwork
• Rolling Stone's Tim Holmes rated the album three out of five stars and said Eddie Van Halen's skill lies in combining complex orchestration with rock banalities

Reappraisal

• In later years the album came to be considered one of Van Halen's most complete recordings

Records

• Topped the Billboard 200 on April 26, 1986, the first chart-topper for the band and for Hagar
• Certified double platinum on May 28 (1986)
• Certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA in the United States, selling more than 7.5 million copies (per the Spanish Wikipedia article)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Eddie Van Halen's home studio name, 5150, was taken from a California police code for a mentally disturbed person.
• A mechanic working on Eddie's Lamborghini introduced the band to former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar in July 1985.
• The figure on the cover was modeled by ESPN BodyShaping's Rick Valente.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

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