"Jump," Van Halen

It’s easy to forget how much fun Van Halen once was.  They were, after all, the unofficial ambassadors of rock debauchery and excess in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 

By the time of its sixth album, 1984, Van Halen was ready to cross over from hard rock to a more commercial sound that featured the much-feared synthesizer.  Though some did not like the band’s change in direction (including frontman David Lee Roth), the new sound would ultimately generate the band’s biggest sales, including its only number one hit, “Jump.”

Rewatching the video now, “Jump” still straddles the line between ridiculous and ridiculously awesome. Roth is at his prime here, wearing a series of absurd outfits that only he could get away with – all the while channeling his inner aerobics instructor. When he’s not strutting like Jagger, Roth hams it up for the camera with the rest of his bandmates, using the same antics hair metal bands would copy move-for-move later in the decade. 

What makes “Jump” classic, though, is the song itself – it’s just a great, upbeat rock song.  Even the synthesizer hook has aged well, providing the perfect foil for Eddie Van Halen’s guitar work.  Van Halen himself seems genuinely seems enthusiastic about playing the song, a feeling that was sorely lacking from the band’s later work.

Following the success of “Jump” and 1984, Roth would leave Van Halen to pursue a solo career.  Numerous lineup changes would follow over the next two decades, creating enough drama to fuel a Behind The Music marathon.  

Van Halen – with Roth back on vocals – will headline Soundwave Revolution Festival in Australia in the fall.  The group is also reportedly working on a new album, which would be the group’s first in nearly 15 years.