Top of the World (Van Halen song)

"Top of the World"
Single by Van Halen
from the album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
B-side	"In 'n' Out"
Released	September 1991 (1991-09)
Studio	5150 (Studio City, California)
Genre	Pop metal [1] [2]
Length	3:52
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriters	Eddie Van Halen Michael Anthony Sammy Hagar Alex Van Halen
Producers	Andy Johns Ted Templeman Van Halen
Van Halen singles chronology
"Poundcake" (1991) "Top of the World" (1991) "Right Now" (1992)
Music videos
"Top of the World" on YouTube

"Top of the World" is a pop metal song by the American rock band Van Halen from their ninth album, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge . It was released as the second single from the album and spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top of the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, becoming their eighth number 1 on this chart. It was the only single off the album to enter the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 27. The main guitar riff from "Top of the World" is actually carried over from the closing guitar background riff from 1984's "Jump".

History

This song was recorded in early 1991; however, the main riff for this song was first played live on the Van Halen 1979 World Tour during "Dance the Night Away". Eddie Van Halen recorded this song using his brand new Ernie Ball Music Man signature guitar and his new Peavey 5150 amps. The song includes Toto lead guitarist Steve Lukather on background vocals. ^[3] It was the last song played during live shows on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour, following "Jump". It was also played on the 1993 Right Here Right Now Tour, the 1995 Balance Tour, and the ill-fated 2004 reunion tour.

Personnel

• Sammy Hagar – lead vocals
• Eddie Van Halen – guitar, backing vocals
• Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Steve Lukather – backing vocals

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC) [4]	63
US Billboard Hot 100 [5]	27
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [6]	1

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	September 1991	—	Warner Bros.	[7]
United Kingdom	October 7, 1991	7-inch vinyl 12-inch vinyl CD cassette		[8]
Australia	November 4, 1991	CD cassette		[9]

References

1. "Remembering Eddie Van Halen: His 20 greatest performances". Los Angeles Times. October 7, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2021. "Top of the World" was indeed an ascendant return to pop-metal mastery
2. Kot, Greg (September 3, 1991). "It's the Guitarist Who Still Makes Van Halen Rock". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved April 13, 2021.
3. Polcaro, Rafael (August 15, 2020). "Steve Lukather talks about claims that he played Van Halen guitar parts". Rock And Roll Garage. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
4. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
5. "Van Halen Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
6. "Van Halen Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
7. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 866. ISBN   9780862415419.
8. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week . October 5, 1991. p. 25.
9. "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 04/11/91: Singles". The ARIA Report . No. 93. November 3, 1991. p. 19.