I’d be a liar if I tried passing myself off as a rabid Van Halen fan from day one. With the exception of Running With The Devil (a great song) off their self-titled debut album in 1978, I’m not sure I heard of any song off their first four LPs, and if I did I certainly didn’t know it well.

That sure as shit changed in 1984 when Van Halen put out their sixth album, appropriately titled 1984. I was instantly won over and loved everything about that record—most notably a few singles that went on regular rotation in my cassette collection, including Panama and Hot For Teacher.

However, Jump was my undisputed Van Halen favorite and 34 years that’s yet to change.

I didn’t know much about Van Halen before this album and frankly don’t know that much since, but I do know Eddie Van Halen was (rightfully) regarded as one of the premier guitar players in the world, and his riffs were what the band was best known for musically.  So how ironic is it that a synthesizer—not Eddie’s guitar would put Van Halen over the top and into the heart of mainstream rock and roll in the 80s?

Previously Van Halen had earned their rep and formidable following on the combo of David Lee Roth’s dominant front man personality and Eddie’s guitar riffing heroics, so the distinction of a synthesizer as Jump’s lead-in instrumental discerned an unpredicted musical direction that had many of the band’s fans surprised. Fortunately for the band the fans didn’t jump shit—as their next four albums would all debut at number-one.

I freegin’ loved Jump. Though the band was around for years before Jump smashed the charts, it was the first time I got educated on Roth as a truly gifted vocalist and frontman. Sadly the creative differences between Roth and the band grew irreconcilable—and Roth was gone a year later and replaced with Sammy Hagar. Roth would come back briefly in 1996 and again from 2006-08.

Jump was their best song and only number-one hit. Rock on, dudes.

Chart Success: It reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed at the top for five weeks before finally being knocked off by Kenny Loggins’ Footloose. It’s five weeks at the top of the charts tied Prince (When Doves Cry) for most consecutive weeks at number-one in 1984. It finished sixth on the year-end Billboard Hot 100.

Great Lyrics: Accounts Roth has given about the lyrics of the song range from suicide to strippers.

“Hey you! Who said that?

Baby how you been?

You say you don’t know, you won’t know until we begin

Well can’t you see me standing here?

I’ve got my back against the record machine

I ain’t the worst that you’ve seen

Oh can’t you see what I mean?”

Fun Facts:  I found this tidbit on Songfacts.com and found it interesting: “In an interview with Mix magazine, Daryl Hall said that the Hall & Oates song “Kiss On My List” was an influence on this one. Said Hall: “[Eddie] Van Halen told me that he copied the synth part from ‘Kiss on My List’ and used it in ‘Jump.’ I don’t have a problem with that at all.”  In doing this countdown I’ve learned that several hits have “borrowed” from Hall & Oates sounds.

Year Released: 1983

Notable Songs: “Holiday”, “Lucky Star”, “Borderline”, “Everybody”, “Burning Up”

Album MVP: “Borderline”

Why I Loved It: This album is truly a pioneer in the genre of dance music, setting the bar extremely high not just in the mid-80s but for many years since. “Borderline” is the first of what would be countless Madonna songs I loved listening to through the years.  It came in at No. 88 on my Favorite 100 Songs of the 80s countdown last year. Of that song I wrote the following, “’Borderline” was one of her early classic pop-dance tunes that defined a decade musically, irrespective to race or gender.  Madonna was someone everyone liked and I don’t care what your general musical preference was.” This is 80’s pop music at its finest and there’s such a liveliness to Madonna’s debut album that would set the stage for one of the biggest and best careers in the history of the music business. Madonna became so big in the years following this that if she went on TV and started smoking crack there woulda been hoards of civilians frantically searching for drug dealers. Seriously, she was that big. There’s something singular about listening to this album that just sticks with me and never feels dated. The lyrics are unpretentious and a lot of fun.

There’s no indication here Madonna would eventually convey musical sermons about religion, sex and all kinds of other social issues in her future albums.  I freegin’ loved this album.

Commercial Success:  Her debut album didn’t enjoy nearly the commercial success as many of her studio efforts that would follow, but her self-titled LP did well nonetheless. This album, containing eight tracks peaked at number-eight on the Billboard Top 200 and would finish two different years ranked in the top 25 on the year-end chart, 17^th in 1984 and 25^th in ’85.  “Lucky Star” peaked at number-four on the Billboard Hot 100 in becoming her first career top five hit while also reaching the top of the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart.  “Borderline” reached four on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart and No. 10 overall on the Billboard Hot 100, finishing 1985 ranked 35^th on the year-end Billboard Hot 100.  “Holiday” reached the top spot on the Dance Club Songs but had to settle for No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.  “Everybody” was released long before the album came out as a single and charted on the Dance Club Songs chart at three, as did “Burning Up.”  In total this album has sold more than five million copies in the United States and 10 million worldwide.

Fun Facts: From Madonna’s Wiki page: “Stephen Thomas Erlewine (famous music critic) said that with the album, Madonna began her career as a disco diva, in an era that did not have any such divas to speak of.[14] In the beginning of the 80s, disco was an anathema to the mainstream pop, and according to him, Madonna had a huge role in popularizing dance music as mainstream music, utilizing her charisma, chutzpah and sex appeal. Erlewine claimed that Madonna “launched dance-pop” and set the standard for the genre for the next two decades.[14] The staff of Vice magazine stated that the album “drew the blueprint for future dance-pop.”[85] Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 50 on “The 100 Best Albums of the Eighties” list, writing: “Indeed, initial response to Madonna gave no indication of the mania to follow. It took a year and a half for the album to go Gold. But its assured style and sound, as well as Madonna’s savvy approach to videos, helped the singer make the leap from dance diva to pop phenom, and it pointed the direction for a host of female vocalists from Janet Jackson to Debbie Gibson.”

Year Released: 1984

Notable Songs: “What’s Love Got To Do With It”, “Private Dancer”, “Better Be Good To Me”, “Let’s Stay Together”, “I Can Handle The Rain”,

Album MVP: “What’s Love Got To Do With It”

Why I Loved It: For better or worse there’s a handful of songs that truly capsulate the 80’s, and few more so than “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” Who can deny the power of that single?

Many consider 1984 the best year of pop music ever.  This single finished ’84 ranked second–not much more needs to be said.

Long before this album dropped and Turner resurrected her career, she long had the voice of a rock icon. For me the biggest difference with “Private Dancer” was she also showed the type of vocals that could fluently handle tunes more on the voluptuous side. Whether you thought you were a Turner fan or not whenever her many hits from this album came on the air, you can’t help but focus your interest towards what you were hearing because she was such a commanding force.  “I Can’t Stand The Rain” and “Let’s Stay Together” are two insanely underrated jams in the middle of the album.

Commercial Success: Turner’s fifth studio solo album turned out to be one the most successful of the mid-80’s.  It climbed to number-three on the Billboard Top 200 and finished on the year-end Billboard Top 200 charts not only in 1984 (39th) and 1985 (5th).  On a worldwide level the album sold over 20 million copies, including five in the United States.  “What’s Love Got To Do With It” was by a mile the album’s biggest single, rising to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for three consecutive weeks (the lone number-one song of her career). It finished ’84 second on the year-end Billboard Hot 100 and absolutely dominated at the Grammys, winning among others both Song and Record of the Year. “Better Be Good To Me” hit five on the Billboard Hot 100 and finished ’85 ranked 59th on the year-end charts. “Private Dancer” (the single) peaked at number-seven on the Billboard Hot 100.  “I Can’t Stand The Rain” got up to No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 while “Let’s Stay Together” maxed at No. 26 and “Show Some Respect” stalled out at No. 37, giving Turner six Top 40 hits from this historic album.

Fun Facts: Courtesy of The Telegraph UK: “Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock, and brought up in the tiny Southern town of Nutbush, Tennessee, which she celebrated in her self-penned 1973 funk anthem, Nutbush City Limits.

With 1984’s What’s Love Got to Do With It?, Tina became the oldest female artist to have US number one hit. However, she reputedly found much of the accompanying Private Dancer album too wishy-washy: she’d wanted to cut a hard-rock record in the style of AC/DC.”