From 1974 until 1985, Van Halen consisted of Eddie Van Halen; Eddie's brother, drummer Alex Van Halen; vocalist David Lee Roth; and bassist/vocalist Michael Anthony. Upon its release in 1978, the band's self-titled debut album reached No. 19 on the Billboard pop music charts and would sell over 10 million copies in the U.S. By 1982, the band released four more albums (Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, and Diver Down), all of which have since been certified multi-platinum. By the early 1980s, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the day. The album 1984 was a commercial success with U.S. sales of 10 million copies and four hit singles; its lead single, "Jump", was the band's only U.S. number one single.
In 1985, Roth left the band to embark on a solo career and was replaced by former Montrose lead vocalist Sammy Hagar. With Hagar, the group released four U.S. number-one, multi-platinum albums over the course of 11 years (5150 in 1986, OU812 in 1988, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge in 1991, and Balance in 1995). Hagar left the band in 1996 shortly before the release of the band's first greatest hits collection, Best of Volume 1. Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone replaced Hagar and recorded the commercially unsuccessful album Van Halen III with the band in 1998, before parting ways in 1999. Van Halen then went on hiatus until reuniting with Hagar in 2003 for a worldwide tour in 2004 and the double-disc greatest hits collection The Best of Both Worlds. Hagar again left Van Halen in 2005. In 2006 Roth returned, but Anthony was replaced on bass guitar by Eddie's son, Wolfgang Van Halen. In 2012, the band released their final studio album A Different Kind of Truth, which was commercially and critically successful; it was also Van Halen's first album with Roth in 28 years and the only one to feature Wolfgang.
As of March 2019, Van Halen is 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States; the band has sold 56 million albums in the States and more than 80 million worldwide, making them one of the best-selling groups of all time. As of 2007, Van Halen is one of only five rock bands with two studio albums to sell more than 10 million copies in the United States and is tied for the most multi-platinum albums by an American band. Additionally, Van Halen has charted 13 number-one hits on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. VH1 ranked the band seventh on a list of the top 100 Hard Rock artists of all time.
Eddie was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, and died of the disease on October 6, 2020. A month after his father's death, Wolfgang confirmed that Van Halen had disbanded.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Halen
Studio albums
Van Halen (1978)
Van Halen II (1979)
Women and Children First (1980)
Fair Warning (1981)
Diver Down (1982)
1984 (1984)
5150 (1986)
OU812 (1988)
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
Balance (1995)
Van Halen III (1998)
A Different Kind of Truth (2012)
A Apolitical Blues
Van Halen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And they told me it was Chairman Mao
Well my telephone was ringing
They told me it was Chairman Mao
You got to tell him anything I just don't want to talk to him now
Not now
I got my apolitical blues and
It's the meanest blues of all
It's the meanest blues of all
I don't care if you're John Wayne
I just don't want to take no calls, no calls
Just wanna play the blues
That's all I'm talkin' about
Now wait a minute
Hey, my telephone is ringin', they told me
They told me it was Chairman Mao, oh
Yeah, my telephone is ringin'
An' they told me it was Chairman Mao
Mama, just tell him anything, I don't care, I just
I-I just don't wanna talk
I d-d-don't wanna talk
I d- I d-don't wanna talk to him now, no
No calls, no calls
In the song "A Apolitical Blues" by Van Halen, the singer receives a phone call, and is told that it was Chairman Mao on the other line. The singer is clearly uninterested in taking this call, expressing his refusal to speak with him. This line signifies a political disinterest and a frustration with political agendas or discussions. He suffers from the "apolitical blues," a sense of alienation and detachment from the political world. The singer claims that this is the "meanest blues of all," perhaps indicating a sense of hopelessness or disenchanted resignation to the current state of politics.
The singer asserts that he just wants to play the blues and not be bothered by any political figures or conversations. This creates a stark contrast between his own personal interests and the overarching political atmosphere in which he resides. Although the lyrics are somewhat tongue-in-cheek, they reveal a sense of disillusionment and lack of faith in politics among the younger generation at the time of the song's release. This disenchantment with politics was a common theme in rock music of the 1970s, and continues to exist in modern music as well.
Line by Line Meaning
Well my telephone was ringing
Someone called me on the phone
And they told me it was Chairman Mao
The person on the phone claimed to be Chairman Mao
You got to tell him anything I just don't want to talk to him now
I don't want to talk to Chairman Mao or anyone else who has politics on their mind
I have a apolitical blues and / It's the meanest blues of all
I feel bad because I don't care about politics and people keep bothering me about it
I don't care if you're John Wayne / I just don't want to take no calls, no calls
I don't care how famous or important you are, I don't want to talk to anyone about politics
Just wanna play the blues / That's all I'm talkin' about
All I want is to play music and not think about politics
Hey, my telephone is ringin', they told me / They told me it was Chairman Mao, oh
My phone is ringing again and the person claims to be Chairman Mao
Mama, just tell him anything, I don't care, I just / I-I just don't wanna talk
I don't want to talk to Chairman Mao or anyone else about politics
I d-d-don't wanna talk to him now, no / No calls, no calls
I won't answer the phone anymore to avoid talking about politics
Lyrics © O/B/O CAPASSO
Written by: Lowell George
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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