Maps of Music

Van Halen II (1979)

Where the lyrics of Van Halen II take you, and where it was really made.

The black-and-yellow guitar on this album's back cover was buried with a guitarist killed in 2004.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (1978)

Recording site Sunset Sound — The album's recording started at Sunset Studio on December 10, 1978, one week after the band finished their first world tour. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Van Halen II: second studio album by American rock band Van Halen
• Released by Warner Bros Records on March 23, 1979
• Peaked at number six on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart
• Produced by Ted Templeman
• Yielded hit singles "Dance the Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls"
• About 5.087 million records sold in the United States as of 2004

Background

• The band had completed their first world tour one week before recording began
• Many songs had existed before the first album, appearing on 1976 demos by Gene Simmons and 1977 demos by Ted Templeman
• An early version of "Beautiful Girls" was then known as "Bring On the Girls"

Recording

• Recording started at Sunset Studio on December 10, 1978, and was complete within a week
• The band used a Putnam 610 console, similar to the console Eddie later installed in his home studio in 1983

Cover

• The back cover shows the black-and-yellow guitar known as "Bumblebee"
• The inner liner notes show David Lee Roth in a cast, after he allegedly broke his heel on the third try of the spread-eagle jump used on the back cover photo

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.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

• Rolling Stone's Timothy White (1979): said the album carries Vanilla Fudge bumps and grinds, Aerosmith-derived pseudobravado, Bad Company basement funk and a few Humble Pie miniraveups
• Rolling Stone's Timothy White (1979): said the LP retains a numbing live feel
• The New York Times: described the album as screaming macho rock howlings and power-driven electric guitar attacks

Reappraisal

• The Rolling Stone Album Guide: praised the feel-good, party atmosphere of the songs
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine: called the album virtually a carbon copy of the 1978 debut, but lighter and funnier
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine: praised Eddie's phenomenal gift and Roth's knowing shuck and jive
• Chuck Eddy (1991): ranked the album at number 128 in his list of the best heavy metal albums, calling it a pub-friendly pop-metal album that anticipated 1980s music

Records

• US Billboard Top LPs & Tape: number six
• UK Albums Chart: number 23
• Certified 5× Platinum in 2004
• About 5.087 million records sold in the United States as of 2004

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The black-and-yellow guitar on the back cover, known as "Bumblebee", was buried with Dimebag Darrell, who was killed in 2004.
• Eddie Van Halen placed the guitar in Darrell's casket at his funeral because Darrell had said it was his favorite.
• Eddie said in a 1979 interview that the guitar was not used on the album, as it had only been completed in time for the photo shoots.
• The band stayed at the Sheraton Inn in Madison, Wisconsin, on their first tour and destroyed the seventh floor; the incidents were blamed on their tour-mates Journey.
• The album was remastered and re-released in 2000.

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

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