Van Halen II

This album (Warner Bros. 3312 [31:14]) was recorded in six days and released on 03/23/79. It reached #6 on the U.S. charts (04/14/79) and #23 on the U.K. charts (04/14/79). 5.7 million copies have been sold in the U.S. It was certified gold on 04/03/79, platinum on 05/08/79, triple platinum on 10/22/84, and quadruple platinum on 07/05/90. The album was remastered and rereleased on 09/19/00.

The album was recorded about a week after the first world tour ended. The band felt that the tour made them better prepared for recording than they would ever be after a rest.

The Sheraton Inn of Madison, WI, is thanked in the album's liner notes. During Van Halen's first tour, they destroyed the seventh floor of the hotel, throwing televisions out the windows and having fire extinguisher fights in the hallways. They blamed the incident on their tour-mates, Journey.

David Lee Roth broke his foot during a photo shoot for the back cover. He did three 12-foot leaps, landing incorrectly on the third jump, subsequently breaking his right foot. When the inner sleeve photos were shot at a later date, the foot was still bandaged and is clearly evident on the final sleeve included with the album. The third jump was the best and it was used for the shot.

Mysteriously, Alex Van Halen is absent from the songwriting credits on side two of the cassette version of this album, probably due to a printing error.

Michael Anthony used a small bass amp for his parts on the album, and for the guitar overdubs, Eddie used only one cabinet and head as opposed to his usual wall of amplifiers.

Three live videos were filmed after the album was released, and later televised on a Don Kirshner's Rock Concert broadcast: Dance the Night Away, You're No Good, and Bottoms Up!.

Tracks:

• You're No Good
• Dance the Night Away
• Somebody Get Me a Doctor
• Bottoms Up!
• Outta Love Again
• Light Up the Sky
• Spanish Fly
• D.O.A.
• Women in Love...
• Beautiful Girls

Singles/Promos:

Serial #: WBS 8823
Label: WB
Tracks: A: Dance the Night Away, B: Outta Love Again
Highest Chart Position: 15 (USA, 07/04/79)
Country: USA
Release Date: 04/02/79
Format: 7" vinyl

Serial #: WBS 49035
Label: WB
Tracks: A: Beautiful Girls (edit), B: D.O.A.
Highest Chart Position: 84 (USA, 10/06/79)
Country: USA
Release Date: 09/15/79
Format: 7" vinyl

Serial #: GWB 0383
Label: WB
Tracks: A: You Really Got Me, B: Dance the Night A way
Country: USA
Release Date: 1979
Format: 7" vinyl

Serial #: 7-21974
Label: WB
Tracks: A: You Really Got Me, B: Dance the Night Away (reissue)
Country: USA
Release Date: ? (1980s)
Format: 7" vinyl