Van Halen was an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972 by the Dutch-born American brothers Eddie Van Halen (guitar) and Alex Van Halen (drums), plus singer David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony. The band's discography consists of 12 studio albums, three live albums, four compilation albums, and 56 singles.
The band signed a contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1977, and in the following year released the album Van Halen. Over the next few years, the band alternated album releases, one per year between 1979 and 1982, and touring to increasing commercial and critical acclaim, becoming one of the world's most successful and influential rock bands. In 1984, Van Halen released 1984, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and had the band's sole No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Jump". After the tour promoting that album, Roth left the band due to artistic and personal tensions with Eddie.
To replace Roth, Eddie picked Sammy Hagar, formerly of Montrose and at that time a very successful solo artist. Van Halen's first album with Hagar, 1986's 5150, was the band's first No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The three studio albums that followed, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Balance, also topped the charts. In 1996, Hagar left Van Halen amidst similar tension with the Van Halen brothers.
Roth rejoined briefly and recorded two songs with the band for the 1996 compilation Best Of – Volume I, but Van Halen eventually settled on Gary Cherone, frontman of the then defunct Boston-based band Extreme. Cherone's sole release with the band was Van Halen III, released in 1998 to mixed reviews and diminishing sales, being the only Van Halen studio album not to get a platinum RIAA certification. Van Halen's last release for Warner was the 2004 compilation Best of Both Worlds, which featured three new songs with Hagar. In 2011, the band left the label and signed with Interscope Records.
In February 2012, Van Halen released its twelfth and final studio album, A Different Kind of Truth, featuring Roth on vocals and Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass guitar. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, and became the band's highest-charting album on the UK Albums Chart with a sixth spot.
, Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide,Press Release Announcing 2004 Van Halen Concert Tour and have thirteen No. 1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. During the 1980s, they, along with the band Heart, had more Billboard Hot 100 hits, fifteen, than any other hard rock or heavy metal band. According to the RIAA, Van Halen is the 19th best-selling music group/artist of all time with sales of over 56.5 million albums in the US, and is one of five rock bands that have had two albums (Van Halen and 1984) sell more than ten million copies in the US.Christie, Ian (2009) Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga. "When Van Halen reached RIAA diamond certification in August 1996, marking over ten million copies sold, Van Halen became one of five rock bands with two albums selling over ten million, joining The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Def Leppard."
Albums Studio albums
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertificationsUSCANAUSAustralian chart positions: Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to June 12, 1988: N.B. The Kent Music Report was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and June 12, 1988. Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from June 13, 1988: Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: All ARIA-era (June 13, 1988 onward) singles chart peaks to March 26, 2019: N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column indicates the release's peak on the national chart. Tokyo Dome Live in Concert (ARIA) peak: SWIAUTNLDDENSWEFINNORGERNZUK Van HalenReleased: February 10, 1978 Label: Warner Bros. Format: LP, 8-track, CS, CD, digital 19 18 17 — — 10 — — — — — 22 34 RIAA: Diamond BPI: Gold BVMI: Gold IFPI FIN: Gold MC: 4× Platinum NVPI: Platinum SNEP: Gold Van Halen IIReleased: March 23, 1979 Label: Warner Bros. Format: LP, CS, 8-track, CD, digital 6 15 68 — — 11 — 22 — — 24 — 23 RIAA: 5× Platinum MC: 2× Platinum NVPI: Gold SNEP: Gold Women and Children FirstReleased: March 26, 1980 Label: Warner Bros. Format: LP, CS, 8-track, CD, digital 6 12 — — — 3 — 19 — 23 19 48 15 RIAA: 3× Platinum MC: 2× Platinum NVPI: Gold SNEP: Gold Fair WarningReleased: April 29, 1981 Label: Warner Bros. Format: LP, CS, 8-track, CD, digital 5 11 97 — — 13 — 18 — 27 37 — 49 RIAA: 2× Platinum MC: Platinum Diver DownReleased: April 19, 1982 Label: Warner Bros. Format: LP, CS, 8-track, CD, DVD-A, digital 3 5 79 — — 28 — 28 — 19 65 37 36 RIAA: 4× Platinum MC: Platinum 1984Released: January 9, 1984 Label: Warner Bros. Format: LP, CS, 8-track, CD, digital 2 1 11 7 12 8 — 4 — 12 11 15 15 RIAA: Diamond BPI: Gold BVMI: Platinum MC: 5× Platinum SNEP: Gold 5150Released: March 24, 1986 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, LP, digital 1 2 5 16 13 30 — 2 — 5 11 13 16 RIAA: 6× Platinum ARIA: 2× Platinum BPI: Silver BVMI: Gold MC: 3× Platinum OU812Released: May 23, 1988 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, LP, digital 1 1 9 9 21 22 — 9 — 5 12 35 16 RIAA: 4× Platinum BPI: Silver For Unlawful Carnal KnowledgeReleased: June 17, 1991 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, LP, digital 1 4 5 11 21 24 — 17 — — 6 25 12 RIAA: 3× Platinum BPI: Silver MC: Platinum BalanceReleased: January 24, 1995 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, LP, digital 1 2 9 6 18 5 — 5 — 17 8 16 8 RIAA: 3× Platinum MC: 3× Platinum Van Halen IIIReleased: March 17, 1998 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS, digital 4 4 8 38 23 24 7 39 5 29 13 14 43 RIAA: Gold A Different Kind of TruthReleased: February 7, 2012 Label: Interscope Format: CD, LP, digital 2 3 4 6 17 12 8 4 3 9 8 14 6 MC: Gold "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
Live albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US CAN AUS SWI AUT NLD DEN SWE FIN NOR GER NZ UK Live: Right Here, Right Now Released: February 23, 1993 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS 5 15 7 18 30 8 — 21 — — 30 25 24 RIAA: 2× Platinum MC: Gold Tokyo Dome Live in Concert Released: March 31, 2015 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, digital, LP 20 24 67 59 — 48 — — — — 64 — 74 Live in Dallas 1991 Released: November 29, 2024 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, digital, LP — — — — — — — — — — — — — Live at Wembley Released: January 9, 2026 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, LP — — — — — — — — — — — — — Live in New Haven 1986 Released: April 18, 2026 Label: Warner Bros. Format: LP — — — — — — — — — — — — 25 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
Compilation albums TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertificationsUSCANAUSSWIAUTNLDDENSWEFINNORGERNZUK Best Of – Volume IReleased: October 22, 1996 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS 1 1 11 26 16 12 5 19 3 36 7 2 45 RIAA: 3× Platinum ARIA: Platinum BPI: Gold BVMI: Gold IFPI FIN: Gold MC: 2× Platinum The Best of Both WorldsReleased: July 20, 2004 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD 3 2 31 55 33 — 25 12 4 17 28 9 15 RIAA: Platinum BPI: Gold The Collection 1978–1984Released: August 25, 2023 Label: Warner Bros., Rhino Format: LP, CD, digital — — — — — — — — — — — — — The Collection IIReleased: October 6, 2023 Label: Rhino Format: LP, CD, digital 62 — — — — — — — — — 27 — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
Box sets TitleAlbum details The Japanese Singles 1978–1984Released: November 1, 2019 Label: Warner Bros./Rhino Format: 7" EP x 13
Singles Title Year Peak chart positionsCertifications Album US US Main AUS CANCanadian peaks RPM – Library and Archives IRE NLD UK "You Really Got Me" 1978 36 — 12 49 — — — Van Halen "Runnin' with the Devil" 84 — — — — 2 52 "Jamie's Cryin'" — — — — — — — "On Fire" [A] — — — — — — — "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" — — — — — — — "Dance the Night Away" 1979 15 — — 28 — — — Van Halen II "Beautiful Girls" 84 — — — — — — "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" [A] — — — — — — — "And the Cradle Will Rock..." 1980 55 — — 81 — — — Women and Children First "Mean Street" [B] 1981 — 12 — — — — — Fair Warning "Push Comes to Shove" — 29 — — — — — "So This Is Love?" 110 15 — 20 — — — "Unchained" [C] — 13 — — — — — "Hear About It Later" [D] — — — — — — — "(Oh) Pretty Woman" 1982 12 1 59 5 — 28 47 Diver Down "Little Guitars" — 33 — — — — — "Where Have All the Good Times Gone!" — 17 — — — — — "Dancing in the Street"b/w "The Full Bug" 38— 342 —— 15— —— —— —— "Secrets" — 22 — — — — — "Jump" 1983 1 1 2 1 2 34 7 RIAA: Gold BPI: 2× Platinum1984 "I'll Wait" 1984 13 2 — 21 — — 85 "Panama" 13 2 74 15 30 — 61 BPI: Silver "Hot for Teacher" 56 24 89 83 — — 87 "Why Can't This Be Love" 1986 3 1 8 13 8 15 8 5150 "Dreams" 22 6 51 85 25 — 62 "Love Walks In" 22 4 — 65 — — — "Summer Nights" — 33 — — — — — "Best of Both Worlds" — 12 — — — — — "Black and Blue" 1988 34 1 — 42 — — — OU812 "When It's Love" 5 1 23 21 23 — 28 "Finish What Ya Started" 13 2 123 — — — — "Feels So Good" 1989 35 6 — — — — 63 "Poundcake" 1991 — 1 55 55 — — 74 For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge "Runaround" — 1 169 50 — — — "Top of the World" 27 1 162 23 — — 63 "Right Now" 1992 55 2 — — — — — "The Dream Is Over" — 7 — — — — — "Man on a Mission" — 21 — — — — — "Jump" 1993 — — 93 — 13 12 26 Live: Right Here, Right Now "Won't Get Fooled Again" — 1 — 64 — — — "Dreams" 111 — — — — — — "Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)" 1995 — 1 107 36 — 31 27 Balance "The Seventh Seal" — 36 — — — — — "Can't Stop Lovin' You" 30 2 105 3 — — 33 "Amsterdam" — 9 — 46 — — 77 "Not Enough" 97 27 — 6 — — — "Humans Being" 1996 — 1 — 47 — — —Twister: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack "Me Wise Magic" — 1 126 14 — — —Best Of: Volume I "Can't Get This Stuff No More" 1997 — 12 — 38 — — — "Without You" 1998 — 1 56 55 — — — Van Halen III "One I Want" — 27 — — — — — "Fire in the Hole" — 6 206 65 — — — "It's About Time" 2004 — 6 — — — — — The Best of Both Worlds "Up for Breakfast" — 33 — — — — — "Tattoo" 2012 67 13 — 62 — — — A Different Kind of Truth "She's the Woman" — 23 — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
Notes 1^ UK and NL position for 1980 re-release A^ released in Japan B^ released in some European territories C^ released in Europe and Japan D^ released in the Netherlands
Videography Video albums Title Year Certification Vocalist Live Without a Net 1986 RIAA: 2× Platinum Sammy Hagar Live: Right Here, Right Now 1993 RIAA: Gold Sammy Hagar Video Hits Volume I 1998 RIAA: Gold ARIA: Platinum David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar, and Gary Cherone
Music videos Year Title Director Album 1978 "You Really Got Me" Unknown Van Halen "Runnin' with the Devil" "Jamie's Cryin'" 1979 "Dance the Night Away" Bruce Gowers Van Halen II "Bottoms Up!" 1980 "And the Cradle Will Rock..." Unknown Women and Children First "Loss of Control" 1981 "So This Is Love?" Bruce Gowers Fair Warning "Unchained" Robert Lombard 1983 "(Oh) Pretty Woman" Diver Down "Jump" Pete Angelus and David Lee Roth 1984 1984 "Panama" Pete Angelus "Hot for Teacher" Pete Angelus and David Lee Roth 1986 "Why Can't This Be Love?" Brian Grant 5150 "Dreams" John Beug "Love Walks In" Danny Kleinman "Best of Both Worlds" 1988 "When It's Love" Jeremiah Chechik OU812 "Finish What Ya Started" Andy Morahan 1989 "Feels So Good" 1991 "Poundcake" For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge "Top of the World" Meiert Avis "Runaround" 1992 "Right Now" Mark Fenske 1994 "Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)" Peter Christopherson Balance 1995 "Can't Stop Lovin' You" "Amsterdam" Unknown "Not Enough" Jeth Weinrich 1996 "Humans Being" Rocky Schenck Twister: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack 1998 "Without You" Paul Andresen Van Halen III "Fire in the Hole" Rocky Schenck 2012 "Tattoo" Unknown A Different Kind of Truth "She's the Woman"
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