[Blogger's Note: At least it's on a Friday!]
Pretty woman, don't walk on by, Pretty woman, don't make me cry, Pretty woman...I'm (fourteen days-- mercy!) late again....
My introduction to this week's tune came the first week of 1984 when this week's band released a new album and made it the first single from said album. At the time, releasing an album so close to the end of the holidays was unheard of--most bands waited until spring when folks had money again. It was actually quite a shrewd move by the band--they had the charts to themselves for two months and sold a ton of records. Didn't hurt that the LP is considered a classic by any number of people....
Prior to my half-assed research, my knowledge of Van Halen would have encompassed not much more than the basics: the band members, the names of their albums, the names of their hits, and that they were a very commercially successful group. In other words, this isn't going to be a fanboy bio, though I have to admit (as often happens) after reading their Wikipedia bio I came away with a lot more respect for the band and its output (even if I won't spend a lot of time listening to it), The original lineup featured lead guitarist (widely considered one of the true great guitarists) Eddie Van Halen, his brother and co-founder Alex (on drums--also considered one of the percussion greats), lead vocalist David Lee Roth, and bassist Michael Anthony. This lineup would last from their inception until the mid 80's when Roth left to pursue a solo career. Sammy Hagar would take his spot for the next ten years with considerable success, before going back to his solo career. Gary Cherone would join them for a single album (not so successful), and over the course of the next twenty-five years (give or take) would alternate touring and albums with Roth or Hagar (Eddie's son Wolfgang would replace Anthony on bass for the final thirteen years). Over the course of their forty-eight years, Van Halen would sell over eighty million albums, have countless world tours, have a ton of infighting (in all formations), and in 2007 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For their career, the band released twelve studio albums (with four #1's and five more top five), five live albums, four compilations (with one also hitting #1), and fifty-six singles (with one #1 and two more top five). Sadly, Eddie passed away in 2020 after a long battle with cancer, and Van Halen called it a career.
"Jump" was the first single from their 1984 LP, the rather numerically entitled 1984. The song would become the only #1 (with a bullet!) single of their career, while the album would peak at #2. The single was ranked #177 on Rolling Stone's 2021 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." The album would eventually sell over ten million copies, becoming the second album of their career to sell over ten million.
Fun Fact: The band wasn't overly fond of "Jump" when Eddie first played it for them, due mostly to the fact that the guitar wizard was playing a synthesizer. Eddie's response? He told them, "...if I want to play a tuba or a Bavarian cheese whistle, I will do it." Not sure if a Bavarian cheese whistle exists, but that is a classic retort....
While David Lee Roth got the original lyric ("Go ahead and jump") from watching coverage of a man threatening suicide by jumping from a building (Roth wondered if people were thinking/yelling that), the song is actually about taking a chance on romance which is a lot more in line with the music Eddie Van Halen created. The synthesizer sparkles with hope from the beginning, which sets the tone for the blossoming flirtation. Eddie has a solid guitar solo song in the middle, Alex's drums power the song throughout, and Roth's vocals are one part hopeful romantic and one part mischievous imp. The band's backing vocals, which pretty much amounts to them screaming "Jump!" after Roth sings it in the chorus is just the icing on the cake. Van Halen was known for being a hard rock band, but they stepped out of their comfort zone and created a pop classic. Tip of the cap!
Lyric Sheet: "Oh, can't you see me standing here?/I got my back against the record machine/I ain't the worst that you've seen..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump
Peace,
emaycee
