Van Halen released the single "Jump" 35 years ago today (Dec. 21, 1983).
"Jump" was the lead single off Van Halen's sixth studio album 1984. It's the band's most successful single, having reached number 1 on the Billboard chart. 1984 has sold over 10 million copies to date. The album was well received by critics including Rolling Stone which ranked it at number 81 on it's list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980's. The album reached number 2 on the Billboard album chart where it remained for five weeks, behind Michael Jackson's Thriller (on which guitarist Eddie Van Halen made a guest appearance). In addition to "Jump", other single off the album included "I'll Wait", "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher". I remember staying up late as a kid watching Friday Night Videos on NBC to catch the world premiere of the "Jump" video. It's hard to believe that it's been 35 years.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.