Album
Diver Down
Diver Down is Van Halen's fifth studio album, released on 19 April 1982 through Warner Bros. Records. It followed Fair Warning (1981) and came about because the label wanted a new record to keep the band in the public eye. Working with producer Ted Templeman, they recorded it in just twelve days.
That speed shapes the album. Alongside full-length originals, it is packed with covers, short guitar interludes and some playful detours into jazz, country blues, doo-wop, a cappella and neo-classical music. The biggest hits were their reworkings of Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and Martha & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street". Critics were lukewarm at the time, yet it sold faster than its predecessor, spent 65 weeks on the US album chart and had reached four million copies there by 1998. It's a loose, restless record, and a fun one.
Diver Down on Riffology
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Diver Down: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 31:30Tracklist
- 1Where Have All the Good Times Gone!Ray Davies3:04
- 2Hang ’Em HighAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:29
- 3CathedralAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen1:23
- 4SecretsAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:28
- 5IntruderAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen1:40
- 6(Oh) Pretty WomanBill Dees and Roy Orbison2:55
- 7Dancing in the StreetGaye, Hunter, Stevenson3:46
- 8Little Guitars (intro)Anthony, Roth, Halen, Halen0:42
- 9Little GuitarsAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:50
- 10Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)Milton Ager and Jack Yellen2:46
- 11The Full BugAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:22
- 12Happy TrailsDale Evans1:05
- Produced by
- Ted Templeman
- Recorded at
- Amigo Studios (North Hollywood), Sunset Sound (Hollywood)
- Engineered by
- Ken Deane, Donn Landee
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 31:30
Line-up
- Michael Anthony · bass guitar, background vocals
- Alex Van Halen · membranophone, drums (drum set)
- Edward Van Halen · guitar, background vocals, synthesizer
- David Lee Roth · vocals, lead vocals, synthesizer, acoustic guitar, harmonica
- Jan Van Halen · clarinet · guest
Singles
- “(Oh) Pretty Woman” · 18 January 1982
- “Dancing in the Street” · May 1982
- “Secrets” · 23 August 1982
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1982 | 3 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1982 | 36 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1982 | 5 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1982 | 9 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1982 | 19 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1982 | 20 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1982 | 22 |
| Dutch Albums · 1982 | 28 |
| Swedish Albums · 1982 | 28 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1982 | 37 |
All 12 charts
| German Albums · 1982 | 65 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1982 | 79 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada | Platinum |
| United States | 4× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
76.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
157k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
8.8k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Full discography →
Van Halen
1978
Van Halen II
1979
Women and Children First
1980
Fair Warning
1981
Jump!
1983
1984
1984
5150
1986
OU812
1988
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
1991
Live: Right Here, Right Now
1993
Balance
1995
Best Of, Volume I
1996
Van Halen III
1998
The Best of Both Worlds
2004
A Different Kind of Truth
2012
Tokyo Dome Live in Concert
2015
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1982-04-19; musicbrainz + wikidata 1982-04-14 (5 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 14 April 1982 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 19 April 1982 | |
| Wikidata | 14 April 1982 | |
| US release | 14 April 1982 | earliest US date |
28 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Warner Records | 081227954994 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992367721 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1982 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 14 April 1982 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992367714 | original |
| 25 September 1986 | JP | Warner–Pioneer Corporation | 4988014304634 | other |
| 1987 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 075992367721 | other |
| 1987 | US | Warner Bros. Records | deluxe | |
| 1987 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992367721 | other |
| 1987 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992367721 | other |
| 10 September 1988 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014720342 | other |
| 1998 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992367721 | other |
| 2000 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624771821 | remaster |
| 19 September 2000 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624771821 | remaster |
| 27 July 2005 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674057351 | other |
| 23 April 2013 | CA | Rhino | 603497923236 | other |
| 2015 | US | Rhino | 081227955007 | remaster |
| 31 March 2015 | XW | Rhino | 603497894178 | other |
| 31 March 2015 | — | Rhino | 603497892440 | remaster |
| 31 March 2015 | — | Warner Bros. Records | 603497892594 | remaster |
| 31 March 2015 | XW | Rhino | 603497892662 | remaster |
| 10 July 2015 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227954994 | other |
| 10 July 2015 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 081227954994 | remaster |
| 10 August 2016 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674240517 | other |
| 23 March 2019 | JP | Rhino | 603497923236 | other |
| 31 October 2025 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797224765 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 2500x2500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2500×2500 | native: native 2500x2500 |
| deezer | 1800×1800 | native |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |