1984 (stylized in Roman numerals as MCMLXXXIV) is the sixth studio album by the rock band Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984. It was the last Van Halen studio album until A Different Kind of Truth (2012) to feature lead singer David Lee Roth, who left the band in 1985 following creative differences. This is the final full length album to feature all four original members (Van Halen brothers, Roth, and Michael Anthony), although they reunited briefly in 2000 to start work on what would much later become 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth.
Roth returned in 2007, but Eddie‘s son Wolfgang replaced Anthony in 2006. 1984 and Van Halen‘s debut are Van Halen‘s bestselling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies. 1984 was well received by music critics. Rolling Stone ranked the album number 81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 album chart and remained there for five weeks, behind Michael Jackson‘s Thriller, on which guitarist Eddie Van Halen made a guest performance. 1984 produced four singles, including Jump, Van Halen‘s only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100; the top 20 hits Panama and I’ll Wait; and the MTV favorite Hot for Teacher. The album was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1999, signifying ten million shipped copies.
Side one
- 1984 (instrumental)
- Jump
- Panama
- Top Jimmy
- Drop Dead Legs
Side two
- Hot for Teacher
- I’ll Wait
- Girl Gone Bad
- House of Pain
Van Halen
David Lee Roth: vocals
Eddie Van Halen : guitars, keyboards, background vocals
Michael Anthony: bass guitar, synth bass on “I’ll Wait”, background vocals
Alex Van Halen: drums
Production
Pete Angelus: art direction
Chris Bellman: mastering
Ken Deane: engineering
Gregg Geller: mastering
Donn Landee: engineering
Jo Motta: project coordination
Margo Nahas: cover art
Joan Parker: production coordination
Richard Seireeni: art direction
Ted Templeman production
