Editing Van Halen (section)

===1977–1985: Breakthrough and initial success with David Lee Roth===
Doug Messenger, Van Morrison's band leader guitarist, knowing that [[Ted Templeman]] was looking for a "guitar hero" act, had seen Van Halen at the [[Starwood (nightclub)|Starwood]] in Hollywood and placed a number of calls to [[Warner Records]] for Ted to check them out. "I don't know if it was 4 calls or 10, but I knew this was exactly the act Ted wanted. So on a horrendously rainy night in mid-1977", Warner Bros. executive [[Mo Ostin]] and producer Ted Templeman saw Van Halen perform at the Starwood in Hollywood.{{cn|date=April 2025}} It was Van Halen's first booking at the Starwood and the first time they hired their own roadies. "We wanted to come on with a little class and we couldn't be seen setting up our own stuff in Hollywood," explained Roth.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 27, 1977|title=LA Times_December 27, 1977_Van Halen|pages=61|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20534174/la-timesdecember-27-1977van-halen/|access-date=May 7, 2020}}</ref> Although the audience was negligible – Messenger claims only a barmaid and himself were there until Ostin and Templeman arrived – the Warner Bros. reps were so impressed that they wrote a [[letter of intent]] on a napkin, and within a week met at a local diner with the band, their future manager Marshall Berle (nephew of comedian [[Milton Berle]]) and Warner touring manager Noel Monk, who had just guided the [[Sex Pistols]] across the United States. According to Noel Monk's book, the band's car had broken down en route to the meeting at the diner, and rather than leave the Warner Bros. reps waiting and appear to be an irresponsible band, the members of Van Halen actually ran the remaining distance of several miles to arrive only slightly late.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Monk |first=Noel |title=Runnin' with the Devil: A Backstage Pass to the Wild Times, Loud Rock, and the Down and Dirty Truth Behind the Making of Van Halen |date=2017 |publisher=Dey Street Books |isbn=978-0062474100 |publication-date=2017 |pages=28 |language=English}}</ref> Warner offered the band a two album recording contract, one that heavily favored Warner, paying the band $0.70 per unit (album) sold, a deal that would leave the band over $1&nbsp;million in debt at the conclusion of their first supporting tour as the opening act for [[Journey (band)|Journey]] and [[Ronnie Montrose]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Jas |last=Obrecht |url=http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=81828&src=3SOSWXXA |title=A Legend is Born Eddie Van Halen's First Interview |publisher=Musician's Friend |access-date=November 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218222440/http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=81828&src=3SOSWXXA |archive-date=December 18, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The group recorded their debut album at [[Sunset Sound Recorders]] studio from mid-September to early October 1977, recording guitar parts for one week and then vocals for two additional. All of the tracks were laid down with little [[overdubbing]] or multi-tracking. Minor mistakes were purposely left on the record and a very rudimentary instrument set-up was used to give the record a live feel. During this time, they continued to play various venues in Southern California, including concerts at the Pasadena Convention Center produced by their promoter and impresario, Steve Tortomasi. {{cn|date=April 2025}}

''[[Van Halen (album)|Van Halen]]'' reached No. 19 on the [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']] pop music charts, one of rock's most commercially successful debuts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webalmanac.allinfoabout.com/music/1970.html |title=1970s: 100 Best-Selling Albums |publisher=All Info About Web Almanac |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105211239/http://webalmanac.allinfoabout.com/music/1970.html |archive-date=January 5, 2007}}</ref> It was regarded as both a heavy metal and hard rock album.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rhino.com/rs500/listing9.lasso|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531104356/http://www.rhino.com/rs500/listing9.lasso |url-status=dead|archive-date=May 31, 2009|title=Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums Ever Listing 401–450|date=May 31, 2009}}</ref> The album included songs now regarded as Van Halen classics, like "[[Runnin' with the Devil]]" and the guitar solo "[[Eruption (instrumental)|Eruption]]", which showcased Eddie's use of a technique known as [[Tapping|"finger-tapping"]], leading into what became the band's first single, a cover of "[[You Really Got Me]]". The band toured for 9 months more, opening for [[Black Sabbath]] and establishing a reputation for their performances.<ref name="Monk, Noel memoir">Monk, Noel memoir</ref> The band's chemistry was based on Eddie Van Halen's guitar technique and David Lee Roth's charisma. The band returned to the studio for two weeks in late 1978, to record ''[[Van Halen II]]'', a 1979 [[LP record|LP]] similar in style to their debut. This record yielded the band's first hit single, "[[Dance the Night Away (Van Halen song)|Dance the Night Away]]", which peaked at 15 on BB Hot 100.

Over the next four years, the band toured non-stop, never taking more than two weeks to record an album. Their album ''[[Women and Children First]]'' was released in 1980, and further cemented Van Halen's platinum-selling status to Warner Bros. It yielded two hit singles, "[[And the Cradle Will Rock...]]" and "[[Everybody Wants Some!! (song)|Everybody Wants Some!!]]". For the first time, an amplified [[Wurlitzer electric piano]] was used to complement Eddie's guitar.

In 1981, during the recording of ''[[Fair Warning (Van Halen album)|Fair Warning]]'', Eddie's desire for darker, more complex songs in minor keys was at odds with Roth's pop tastes and style. Nonetheless, Roth and veteran Warner Bros. rock producer Ted Templeman acquiesced to Eddie's wishes on this album. Doug Messenger recalled how Ed and engineer Don Landee rerecorded the "[[Unchained (song)|Unchained]]" solo hours after Ted "stormed out of" the studio. This darker album only reached platinum status after $250,000 of [[payola]] pushed it up nationwide from 400,000 copies.<ref name="Monk, Noel memoir"/>

Planning to release a cover single, then take a  hiatus, Roth and Eddie agreed upon a remake of the 1960s [[Roy Orbison]] song "[[Oh, Pretty Woman]]", which peaked at 12 on BB Top 100. "Oh, Pretty Woman"'s comical video helped its success, but was also banned by MTV. Due to much pressure from Warner Bros., the hiatus was canceled and the ''[[Diver Down]]'' LP was squeezed out, again, within two weeks time.<ref name="Monk, Noel memoir"/> Roth's preference for pop covers prevailed this time and with Eddie's synthesizer and guitar riffs ''Diver Down'' charted much better. The band earned a spot in the [[Guinness Book of World Records]] for the highest-paid single appearance of a band: $1.5&nbsp;million for a 90-minute set at [[Steve Wozniak]]'s 1983 [[US Festival]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gill |first1=Chris |title=Eddie Van Halen Revisits Van Halen's Landmark '1984' Album |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/eddie-van-halen-looks-back-van-halen-1984-album-5150-studios |website=Guitar World |access-date=April 28, 2019}}</ref> a show that both Noel Monk and Doug Messenger considered artistically a disaster, Roth having consumed alcohol to the point of forgetting lyrics.<ref name="Monk, Noel memoir"/> Despite this return to form, Roth and Eddie's differences continued, and this caused friction with other band members. [[Billy Sheehan]], after his band [[Talas (band)|Talas]] completed a tour with Van Halen, claims he was approached by Eddie to replace Michael Anthony; the reasons for this were never completely clear to Sheehan, as nothing came of it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025221139/http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/Interviews05/billysheehan05.htm|url-status=dead|title=Classic Rock Revisited your online source for Rock and Metal fans|archive-date=October 25, 2007|website=Classicrockrevisited.com}}</ref> During this time, Eddie contributed the score and instrumental songs to the film ''[[The Wild Life (film)|The Wild Life]]''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Eddie Van Halen – "Good Enough" from 'The Wild Life' Movie Score | date=September 17, 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dw6YrpsPWs| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/8Dw6YrpsPWs| archive-date=October 28, 2021|language=en|access-date=May 7, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The score was laden with drum machine and hinted at sounds and riffs that would come with their next two albums, [[1984 (Van Halen album)|''1984'']] and [[5150 (album)|''5150'']].

''1984'' (released on January 9, 1984) was a commercial success, going five-times platinum after a year of release.<ref>{{cite web |title=RIAA Gold & Platinum Awards |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=van+halen#search_section |website=RIAA |access-date=April 15, 2019}}</ref> Recorded at Eddie's newly built [[5150 Studios]], the album featured keyboards, which had only been used sporadically on previous albums. The lead single, "[[Jump (Van Halen song)|Jump]]", featured a synthesizer [[Hook (music)|hook]] and anthemic lyrics inspired by news coverage of a suicidal jumper. It became the band's first and only No. 1 [[popular music|pop]] hit with Roth, garnering them a Grammy nomination.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yuddy.com/articles/Music/van-halen.html |title=Van Halen Bio |publisher=Yuddy |access-date=August 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828201619/http://www.yuddy.com/articles/music/van-halen.html |archive-date=August 28, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 
{{Listen|filename=Jump by Van Halen.ogg|title="Jump"| description=Sample of "[[Jump (Van Halen song)|Jump]]", the lead single from the band's sixth album, ''[[1984 (Van Halen album)|1984]]''. Centered around a synthesizer [[Hook (music)|hook]] instead of the band's trademark guitar sound, and featuring anthemic lyrics, the song became the band's most commercially successful single.<ref>{{allMusic |song |id=jump-mt0035327653 |title=Jump |first=Greg |last=Prato |access-date=July 28, 2014}}</ref>}}

Other singles included "[[Panama (song)|Panama]]" (No. 13 U.S.), "[[I'll Wait]]" (also No. 13 U.S.), and "[[Hot for Teacher]]". Three of the songs had popular music videos on MTV. ''1984'' was praised by critics<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r20987|access-date=August 17, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=van%2Bhalen |title=Van Halen |access-date=August 17, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanhalen/albums/album/236834/review/6067491/1984 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202061419/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanhalen/albums/album/236834/review/6067491/1984 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 2, 2007 |title=Van Halen: 1984 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=August 17, 2007}}</ref> and peaked at No. 2 on the [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']] charts behind [[Michael Jackson]]'s ''[[Thriller (album)|Thriller]]'' (which notably had a guitar solo by Eddie on "[[Beat It]]").

Following the 1984 Tour, Roth decided to quit and form a new band. Group members have given different reasons for the split, but all were firmly rooted in control of the band's sound, artistic direction, singles released and pace. Roth was concerned about Eddie playing music outside of Van Halen. Roth was also launching a successful solo career with two hit cover songs off his ''[[Crazy from the Heat]]'' EP, a remake of [[the Beach Boys]]' classic "[[California Girls]]" (#3 U.S.) and a pairing of the classic [[Al Jolson]] standard "[[Just a Gigolo (song)|Just a Gigolo]]" and "[[I Ain't Got Nobody]]"(#12 U.S.), which had previously been paired together by [[Louis Prima]]. Roth was offered a $20-million film deal for a script titled ''Crazy from the Heat''. Roth hoped Van Halen would contribute the soundtrack; however, the film deal fell through when [[TriStar Television|CBS Pictures]] was reorganized in 1986.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}