Jump (Van Halen song)
"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.[1] 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.[2] In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Jump" at number 177 on its updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[3]
"Jump"
"House of Pain"
December 1983
1983
4:02
"Jump" was one of the few Van Halen songs originally recorded by Roth that Sammy Hagar would perform live during his tenures with the band.
Music video[edit]
The music video for "Jump" was directed by Pete Angelus and David Lee Roth. It is a straightforward performance clip. It was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards, and won "Best Stage Performance" for the video. The audio mix of the song in video version has an extra "Ah oh oh!" yell from Roth before the last chorus.
In the 2011 book MTV Ruled the World: The Early Years of Music Video by Greg Prato, Angelus discussed the video. "'Jump' really was just about personality, really. It was a very simple video. We shot it for nothing. David wanted to incorporate his karate-flipping - that he loved so much - into the whole thing. The initial concept was just to film them in a very simple live setting, and let the personalities show through. We did it very quickly. Seriously, I think that we probably spent more money on pizza delivery than we did on the video itself. But that was the intention - make it a very intimate, personal feeling, with a very big band."[20]
Sporting anthem[edit]
Since December 1986, before every home game at the Stade Vélodrome, Olympique de Marseille players enter to Van Halen's song.[21]
As part of the goal celebrations it is also played every time A.C. Milan scores a goal at their home ground San Siro.[22]
The song is a staple at Detroit Pistons NBA games whenever a jump ball is called.
The original Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League played "Jump" on the arena PA system as the team came onto the ice. They used the song until the team's departure for Phoenix after the 1995–96 season. On the team's return in 2011, public outcry for use of the song initially was ignored, as the team's management company True North Sports and Entertainment wished to create a break with the past, considering the previous Jets a different organization from the new Jets (the former Atlanta Thrashers). However, in 2016 True North resumed the use of "Jump", this time as the team's goal song whenever the Jets score a goal at Bell MTS Place.[23]
"Jump" was the theme song for the introduction of Chicago Cubs broadcasts on WGN-TV in 1984 and 1985, and was formerly what the team would run onto the field to before the top of the 1st inning.[24][25]
Reception[edit]
"Jump" was ranked number 15 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s. The song was listed by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll."[26] Chuck Klosterman of Vulture.com ranked it the 16th-best Van Halen song, calling it "an articulation of unadulterated joy and the unprecedented power of six rudimentary keyboard chords arranged in the best possible sequence."[16] Ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics, the song was voted as the favourite sporting anthem, in a poll of members of PRS for Music.[27]
Appearances in film and television[edit]
The song was used in soundtrack of the 2015 biopic film Eddie the Eagle, being described by Blake Goble of Consequence of Sound as "the most on-the-nose use of Van Halen's 'Jump' ever committed to celluloid".[28] "Jump" appears in the 2018 science fiction film Ready Player One. The song was used in the opening credits of the film and in the trailer for the film,[29][30] and considered an "inspired choice" by Joe Reid of Decider.com.[31]
The song is heard in a scene of the 2005 movie Herbie: Fully Loaded where the titular character competes in a demolition derby.
In 2009, the song was covered on the musical television show Glee's first-season episode "Mattress", sung by the Glee Cast.
In 2016, a brief portion of it was used in the animated jukebox musical Sing for the audition scene performed by a trio of frogs.
Awards and nominations[edit]
"Jump" was nominated at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards (1984) in the "Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal" category, losing to "Purple Rain" by Prince & The Revolution.[32]
Armin van Buuren remix[edit]
Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren debuted his own private remix of "Jump" at the 2019 Miami Ultra Music Festival with David Lee Roth on stage.[33] This remix was finally released through Big Beat Records on May 17, 2019.[34]
"Jump (Live)"
Typography[edit]
The typeface used for the cover is Cristal, created by the French designer Rémy Peignot.[70]