10 Things You Didn't Know About 'Van Halen II'
By Sam Valorose
March 23, 2017
Van Halen II is arguably the soundtrack of the early 80's. The second Van Halen studio album has been blasted from Chevrolet Camaros since it's release on March 23rd, 1979 and tracks "Dance The Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls" are still in constant rotation on Classic Rock radio.
To celebrate its 38th birthday, let's put on our leopard-print spandex pants, spray some product in our huge perms, and jump-kick into 10 facts that you didn't know about this landmark album.
1. When the band came back from tour and were ready to follow up their first album, Van Halen, Warner Bros. records said the band owed them $2 million due to contractual obligations.
2. Van Halen II was recorded in about three weeks. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen recalled, “It was the end of the year. We had three weeks to deliver another record … then boom, we went straight out on tour again. The first record took about a week, seven days to do. The second record took about three weeks."
3. Singer David Lee Roth is wearing a cast in a photo in the liner notes. He allegedly broke his heel while making the jump featured on the back of the album.
4. The band wanted to make sure nobody mistook them for a "heavy metal" band. Roth said in an interview in 1980, “Van Halen is not that. Van Halen is entertainment. Van Halen is entertainment delivered at maximum impact, but it’s entertainment.”
5. The black and gold guitar that Eddie Van Halen is holding on the back of the album was buried with Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who was shot and killed in 2004.
6. Eddie Van Halen has said that his famous black and gold guitar was not used on the album - in fact, the guitar wasn't even made until after the album was completed.
7. The band decided to go in the studio to record totally unprepared. Roth said in an interview, “This time, we decided to really take it to the edge and go in totally unprepared, and this way we’d get a totally spontaneous sound. It’s like bang, stick it on the plastic, next please — that’s the Van Halen attitude and lifestyle.”
8. During a performance in 2006, Roth said he wrote "Dance The Night Away" in tribute to woman who was caught having sex in the back seat of a truck and put her pants on backwards to run away from the police.
9. There were rumors that Van Halen was actually the members of KISS without their make-up and costumes on. The speculation was squashed following the releases of Van Halen II and the KISS members' solo albums. Fans noticed the height difference between Alex Van Halen and Peter Criss.
10. Four of the ten tracks on Van Halen II are featured in the video game Guitar Hero: Van Halen. The tracks are "Dance the Night Away," "Somebody Get Me a Doctor," "Spanish Fly," and "Beautiful Girls."
Watch the video for "Dance The Night Away" below: