Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3

This week in 1984, yet another new song went to Number One, beginning a five-week run at the top spot. On February 25, 1984, ”Jump” (video up top) by American rock band Van Halen became the new Number One song. It was the group’s biggest hit, and their only Number One in the USA. The song was the lead single from their sixth studio album, 1984.

I think this song is a good example of a pop-rock song from the mid-1980s, not the least because of its heavy reliance on synths. The song was everywhere at the time, which makes sense when it spent five weeks at Number One on the Billboard “Hot 100”, it’s another song that was definitely part of my life’s soundtrack at the time.

The music video is a performance video, which isn’t necessarily typical in the music video age, but it seems to me it was a good choice for them: Van Halen had been a known as a rock band, and “Jump” was a departure from what they were known for. In was kind of clever marketing, whether intentional or not.

I was never a fan of Van Halen, and at the time I thought this song was okay, but it wasn’t among my favourites. Part of the reason for my indifference is that I didn’t particularly like lead singer David Lee Roth, who I thought of as a bit of a dick for what Wikipedia described as “his wild and energetic stage persona”, something that can be seen in the video for “Jump”. Years later, I realised he was a showman—still not my thing, but a showman, nevertheless. I may not have warmed to him with time, but I did at least come to appreciate his contribution to pop music in the 1980s. David Lee Roth left Van Halen for a solo career in 1985.

“Jump” reached Number 2 in Australia, 2 in Canada, 12 in New Zealand, 7 in the UK (Platinum), and Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and on the Billboard “Mainstream Rock” charts; the song was also Gold in the USA.

The album 1984 reached 11 in Australia, Number One in Canada (5x Platinum), 15 in New Zealand (Platinum), 15 in the UK (Gold), and 2 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart (Diamond).

This series will return March 31 with another new Number One.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024