I Know It’s Obvious, But 1984 Is How Old?

So…are you guys ready to feel really freakin old?

Van Halen’s 1984 album was released 30 years ago today.

Yeah, I kind of jumped a little and did some quick math, too. You’re not alone. Don’t worry. We’ll be ok. Just breathe.

Speaking of Jump, man did I ever love that song as a 4-year-old kid. Still love it today. But apparently I almost didn’t get the chance.

5. In a 1995 cover story in Rolling Stone, Eddie Van Halen claimed that Roth had rejected the now-famous synth riff for Jump for at least two years before agreeing to write lyrics to it.

I suppose that makes sense given how different it is from basically everything they’d ever done up to that point, but thank god he gave in.

And here’s something else I didn’t know. Maybe it’s common knowledge among hardcore Van Halen people, but if I don’t know it, odds are somebody else doesn’t know it either.

9. “Jump” contains the standard Eddie guitar solo, which he claims as his favorite solo he never wrote. The producer spliced parts of two different takes to create the one heard in the song.

Next you’re going to tell me there’s no Santa Claus.

There are a few other interesting tidbits at the above link. Check it out if you’ve got a few free seconds. And while you do that, let’s all have a listen to Jump.

Happy birthday, awesome album.

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