Women and Children First

Women and Children First
Studio album by Van Halen
Released	March 26, 1980
Recorded	Early 1980
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	33:13
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Ted Templeman
Van Halen chronology
Van Halen II (1979) Women and Children First (1980) Fair Warning (1981)
Singles from Women and Children First
"And the Cradle Will Rock..." Released: 1980

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	(B)
Rolling Stone	(favorable)
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Women and Children First is the third studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1980.

Background and recording

This is the first Van Halen album to feature all original band compositions. The opening track, "And the Cradle Will Rock...", begins with what sounds like a guitar, but is, in fact, a phase shifter-effected Wurlitzer electric piano played through Van Halen's 1960's model 100-watt Marshall Plexi amplifier.

The album was recorded live in studio with one take, no overdubs, except slight alterations on "And the Cradle Will Rock...". A few live mistakes can be heard on the song "Everybody Wants Some!!". There were chorus errors, and Dave was cutoff by Eddie's guitar on the Dave talk rap break with "I like". Which was for "I like the way the line runs on the back of your stocking"

"Could This Be Magic?" contains the only female backing vocal ever recorded for a Van Halen song; Nicolette Larson sings during some of the choruses. The rain sound in the background is not an effect. It was raining outside, and they decided to record the sound in stereo using two Neuman KM84 microphones, and add it to the track.

Only one single was released from the album, the keyboard driven "And the Cradle Will Rock..." Although the single was not a success like previous singles "Dance the Night Away" or the cover of "You Really Got Me," the album itself was well received and further entrenched the band as a popular concert draw. The song "Everybody Wants Some!!" was also a concert staple through the 1984 tour, and continued to be played by David Lee Roth after he left Van Halen.

The album contains a hidden track at the end of "In a Simple Rhyme," a brief instrumental piece entitled "Growth." A longer version of "Growth" was supposed to start the band's next album, Fair Warning, but this did not occur. "Growth" was a staple of the band's live shows with Roth and often used as the start of their encores. Several outtakes from these sessions exist, including an unreleased instrumental titled often referred to as "Act Like It Hurts," which was the title Eddie originally wanted for "Tora! Tora!" "Act Like It Hurts" also provided a riff for "House of Pain," released on 1984.

"Everybody Wants Some!!" was featured in the 1985 comedy Better Off Dead, during a sequence featuring a singing, guitar-playing claymation hamburger. A nod is given to Eddie Van Halen in the animation, as the hamburger's guitar sports a red, black, and white stripe design made famous by the guitarist.

The album version included a poster of a photograph by Helmut Newton featuring David Lee Roth chained to a fence.

Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No. 30 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".

Track listing

All songs by Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen.

1. "And the Cradle Will Rock..." – 3:31
2. "Everybody Wants Some!!" – 5:05
3. "Fools" – 5:55
4. "Romeo Delight" – 4:19
5. "Tora! Tora!" – 0:57
6. "Loss of Control" – 2:36
7. "Take Your Whiskey Home" – 3:09
8. "Could This Be Magic?" – 3:08
9. "In a Simple Rhyme" – 4:33
   "Growth" (hidden track, begins at 4:19)

Personnel

Band members

• David Lee Roth – lead vocals
• Eddie Van Halen – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Alex Van Halen – drums

Additional musicians

• Nicolette Larson – backing vocals on "Could This Be Magic?"

Production

• Producer: Ted Templeman
• Engineers: Donn Landee, Gene Meros
• Remastering: Chris Bellman
• Project coordinator: Jo Motta
• Creative consultant and cover art concept: Pete Angelus
• Art direction: Richard Seireeni
• Cover photo: Norman Seeff

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)	2× Platinum	200,000^
France (SNEP)	Gold	100,000*
United States (RIAA)	3× Platinum	3,000,000^
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone

Charts

Album

Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1980	Pop Albums	6

Singles

Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	"And the Cradle Will Rock..."	Billboard Hot 100	55