- Van Halen II
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Van Halen II 
Studio album by Van Halen Released March 23, 1979 Recorded December 1978 - January 1979, Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, CA Genre Hard rock, heavy metal Length 32:00 Label Warner Bros. Producer Ted Templeman Van Halen chronology Van Halen
(1978)Van Halen II
(1979)Women and Children First
(1980)Singles from Van Halen II - "Dance the Night Away"
Released: 1979 - "Beautiful Girls"
Released: 1979
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]Robert Christgau (C+)[2] Rolling Stone (1979 Review) (not rated)[3] 
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.Van Halen II is the second album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1979.
Contents
History
The actual recording of the album took place less than a year after the release of the band's eponymous debut album. Many of the songs on this album have been known to exist prior to the release of the first album, and are present (in various forms) on the demos recorded in 1976 by KISS' Gene Simmons and 1977 by Ted Templeman, including an early version of "Beautiful Girls" (then known as "Bring on the Girls") and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor," (The album version is only slightly different than the demo versions).[citation needed]
The black-and-yellow guitar on the back of the album is buried with Dimebag Darrell. Eddie Van Halen placed it in his casket at his funeral because Dimebag had said it was his favorite.[4] However, Eddie himself stated in interviews that the guitar itself was not actually used on the Van Halen II album, as it had only been completed just in time for the photo shoots for the album. David Lee Roth is shown in a cast in the inner liner notes, as he allegedly broke his right foot making the leap and accidentally landing on the bottom of the microphone stand also seen in the picture on the back cover.[5]
Track listing
All songs written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, except where noted.
No. Title Length 1. "You're No Good" (Clint Ballard, Jr.) 3:16 2. "Dance the Night Away" 3:06 3. "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" 2:52 4. "Bottoms Up!" 3:05 5. "Outta Love Again" 2:51 6. "Light Up the Sky" 3:13 7. "Spanish Fly" (Instrumental) 1:00 8. "D.O.A." 4:09 9. "Women in Love..." 4:08 10. "Beautiful Girls" 3:56 Total length:32:00 Personnel
- David Lee Roth - lead vocals
- Eddie Van Halen - electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
- Michael Anthony - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Alex Van Halen - drums
Production
- Producer: Ted Templeman
- Engineers: Corey Bailey, Jim Fitzpatrick, Donn Landee
- Assistant engineers: Corey Bailey, Jim Fitzpatrick
- Remastering: Gregg Geller
- Project coordinator: Jo Motta
- Art direction: Dave Bhang
- Design: Dave Bhang
- Artwork: Dave Bhang
- Photography: Elliot Gilbert, Neil Zlozower
Certifications
Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (Music Canada)[6] 2× Platinum 200,000^ France (SNEP)[7] Gold 100,000* United States (RIAA)[8] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^ *sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification aloneCharts
Album
Billboard (North America)
Year Chart Position 1979 Pop Albums 6 Singles
Billboard (North America)
Year Single Chart Position 1979 "Dance The Night Away" Billboard Hot 100 15 1979 "Beautiful Girls" Billboard Hot 100 84 References
- ^ Van Halen II at Allmusic
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: van halen". robertchristgau.com. http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=van+halen. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
- ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanhalen/albums/album/242399/review/5940427/van_halen_ii[dead link]
- ^ "Pantera". VH1: Behind the Music. VH1. 38 minutes in.
- ^ Van Halen II
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Van Halen – Van Halen II". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Van+Halen+II&sa=Van+Halen&smt=0.
- ^ "French album certifications – Van Halen – Van Halen II" (in French). InfoDisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php. Select VAN HALEN and click OK
- ^ "American album certifications – Van Halen – Van Halen II". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Van+Halen+II%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
Categories:- Albums certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
- Albums certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
- Albums certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
- 1979 albums
- Van Halen albums
- Warner Bros. Records albums
- Albums produced by Ted Templeman
- "Dance the Night Away"
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