| "Amsterdam" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Van Halen | ||||
| from the album Balance | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | June 26, 1995 [1] | |||
| Length | 4:45 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Bruce Fairbairn | |||
| Van Halen singles chronology | ||||
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"Amsterdam" is a song by American rock band Van Halen from their 10th studio album, Balance (1995). It was released as a single to mainstream rock radio and peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in mid-1995. [2]
According to a 1995 interview on Dutch radio, the song is based upon Sammy's tourist impression of Amsterdam, such as the freedom he felt in the city.
According to Ian Christe's book Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga, Eddie and Alex Van Halen didn't like the lyrics, feeling the song did their birthplace a disservice, due to its explicit references to cannabis use (with lines such as "roll an Amsterdam", clearly it refers to "roll a joint" ) and to its little content. Sammy, however, wouldn't budge, as it was about his tourist impression over the memories of the Van Halen family homeland. About this, Eddie Van Halen said to Guitar World in 1996:
"Well, I wasn't sober before, and I wasn't even listening to the lyrics! It's not like I suddenly wanted Sammy to be my puppet or anything, but once in a while I would take issue with a specific lyric or line. For example, I always hated the words 'wham, bam, Amsterdam,' from Balance, because they were all about smoking pot – they were just stupid. Lyrics should plant some sort of seed for thought, or at least be a little more metamorphical." [3]
A music video was shot for "Amsterdam" in January 1995 during the band's promotional tour in Amsterdam. After the finishing touches were completed in April, Warner Bros. sent the video to MTV, who sent it back due to the song's references to marijuana, specifically the lyric "Score me some Panama Red, yeah." They altered the lyrics for the video for airplay, but MTV still refused to play it. The altered video eventually aired on MuchMusic in Canada.
Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and for the virtuosity of its guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
David Lee Roth is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when they disbanded in 2020. He has also had a successful solo career, releasing numerous RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum albums. After more than two decades apart, Roth re-joined Van Halen in 2006 for a North American tour that became the highest-grossing in the band's history, and one of the highest-grossing of that year. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen.
Sam Roy Hagar, also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a successful solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". He enjoyed further commercial success when he replaced David Lee Roth as the lead vocalist of Van Halen in 1985, but left in 1996. He returned to the band from 2003 to 2005.
Gary Francis Caine Cherone is an American rock singer and songwriter. Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme and Van Halen.
OU812 is the eighth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1988 and is the band's second album to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. Van Halen began work on the album in September 1987 and completed it in April 1988, one month before its release.
Balance is the tenth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 24, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records. The album is the last of the band's four studio releases to feature Sammy Hagar as the lead singer. It is also the final Van Halen album to feature bassist Michael Anthony in its entirety. Balance reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 in February 1995 and reached triple platinum status on May 12, 2004, by selling more than three million copies in the US. "The Seventh Seal" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.
"Jump" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in December 1983 as the lead single of their sixth studio album, 1984. It is Van Halen's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song differs from earlier Van Halen songs in that it is driven by a keyboard riff, although the song does contain a guitar solo. David Lee Roth dedicated the song to martial artist Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, of whom he was a student. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Jump" at number 177 on its updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Live Without a Net is a live concert video of Van Halen recorded in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1986, and released later that year. It was of their performance on August 27, 1986 at New Haven's Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The 90-minute release removed a few songs from the full performance. While the band attempted to record the previous night, audio problems prevented it from being used, although some video footage from that night would later surface in music videos. The concerts were part of the 5150 Tour, supporting the album of the same name, Van Halen's first with lead singer Sammy Hagar.
"Right Now" is a song written by the group Van Halen for their album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. The song reflects on living for the moment and not being afraid of making a change.
"Why Can't This Be Love" is a song by the American rock band Van Halen for their seventh studio album, 5150 (1986). The song was the group's first single with Sammy Hagar, replacing founding member David Lee Roth. It was released on both 7" and 12" formats with the latter having an extended version featuring extra lyrics.
"Humans Being" is a song recorded and contributed by American rock band Van Halen for the 1996 disaster film Twister. The song marks the last recording to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar before his departure from the band in June 1996. "Humans Being" was released as a radio-only single in the United States on April 23, 1996, peaking atop the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for two weeks later that year. In Japan, the single was released on CD in July 1996.
I Never Said Goodbye is the ninth studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released on June 23, 1987, by Geffen Records. It was his first solo album since 1984's VOA, released while he was a member of Van Halen. The album was recorded in ten days under a contractual obligation to Geffen Records as a condition of his leaving the company to join Van Halen and their record label, Warner Bros. Records. The album spent 23 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and became his highest charting solo album, peaking at number 14 on August 15, 1987.
Marching to Mars is the tenth studio album by American rock singer Sammy Hagar, and his first post-Van Halen solo album. It features various musicians on different songs. It was released on May 20, 1997, by MCA Records. "Little White Lie" was a major mainstream rock hit, topping the mainstream rock tracks chart for five weeks.
"Me Wise Magic" is a song by Van Halen that appears on the rock band's 1996 compilation album Best Of – Volume I and became the band's 13th No. 1 Billboard Mainstream Rock Track, maintaining the No. 1 position for 6 weeks during the autumn of 1996. It was the first of two highly anticipated tracks recorded by the band with its original lead vocalist and songwriter, David Lee Roth. Together with the other new song on the compilation album, "Can't Get This Stuff No More", it is the last song recorded by the original line-up, consisting of Roth, Michael Anthony and the Van Halen brothers.
"Don't Tell Me " is a song by American hard rock band Van Halen from their 1995 album Balance. It was one of four singles issued for the album and was the only one to reach number one on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, where it stayed for three weeks.
"Top of the World" is a song written by the group Van Halen for their 1991 album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, released as the second single from the album, and spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in the U.S., becoming their eighth number one on this chart. It was the only single off the album to crack the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #27. The main guitar riff from "Top of the World" is actually carried over from the closing guitar background riff from 1984's "Jump".
"Love Walks In" is a power ballad by American rock band Van Halen released as the third single from the band's seventh studio album, 5150 (1986). It was the first song the band wrote with vocalist Sammy Hagar. It peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart, and reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Best of Both Worlds" is a song by American rock band Van Halen on their album 5150 that was later released as a single in October 1986. A music video taken from the Live Without a Net concert video was in heavy rotation on MTV.
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was an American musician. He was the guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex in 1972. Van Halen also provided backing vocals for both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, and occasionally played keyboards.
"Winner Takes It All " is a 1987 rock song written by record producer Giorgio Moroder and Thomas Whitlock and recorded by Sammy Hagar. Originally was included in the soundtrack of the Sylvester Stallone movie Over the Top, being the first track and second single from the album, released through CBS Records. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 54 on their Hot 100 chart. It appears in Hagar's 2004 compilation album The Essential Red Collection.
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