The band signed a contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1977,[1] 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.[2]
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,[3] and became the band's highest-charting album on the UK Albums Chart with a sixth spot.[4]
As of 2007[update], Van Halen has sold 75 million albums worldwide [5] and have thirteen No. 1 hits on the BillboardMainstream 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 million albums in the US,[6] 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.[7]
^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."
Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to June 12, 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 319. ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Music Report was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and June 12, 1988.
Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 292.
