Album
Women and Children First
Women and Children First is Van Halen's third studio album, released on 26 March 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. Ted Templeman produced it, with Donn Landee behind the desk as engineer, the same pairing that had shaped the band's earlier records.
It follows Van Halen and Van Halen II, and it marks a first for the band: there isn't a single cover song on it, so every track is their own. It also finds them moving in a heavier direction. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine heard it as the point where the group got heavier in sound and, to a lesser degree, in subject matter. For anyone tracing how the band's hard rock edged towards metal before Fair Warning arrived in 1981, this is a useful record to hear.
Women and Children First: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 33:36Tracklist
- 1And the Cradle Will Rock…Anthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:33
- 2Everybody Wants Some!!Anthony, Roth, Halen, Halen5:09
- 3FoolsAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen5:57
- 4Romeo DelightAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen4:20
- 5Tora! Tora!Anthony, Roth, Halen, Halen0:57
- 6Loss of ControlAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen2:39
- 7Take Your Whiskey HomeAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:12
- 8Could This Be Magic?Anthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:09
- 9In a Simple RhymeAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen4:41
- Produced by
- Ted Templeman
- Recorded at
- Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California
- Recorded
- December 1979 – February 1980
- Engineered by
- Donn Landee, Gene Meros
- Photography
- Norman Seeff
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 33:36
Line-up
- Michael Anthony · bass guitar, background vocals, electric bass guitar
- Alex Van Halen · membranophone, drums (drum set)
- Edward Van Halen · guitar, keyboard, background vocals
- David Lee Roth · lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- Nicolette Larson · background vocals · guest
Singles
- “And the Cradle Will Rock...” · April 1980
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1980 | 6 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1980 | 15 |
| Dutch Albums · 1980 | 3 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1980 | 12 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1980 | 15 |
| German Albums · 1980 | 19 |
| Swedish Albums · 1980 | 19 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1980 | 23 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1980 | 25 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2021 | 34 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1984 | 2× Platinum |
| France · 1981 | Gold |
| Netherlands · 1984 | Gold |
| Japan · 1978 | Gold |
| United States · 1994 | 3× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
76.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
144k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
9.0k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 26 March 1980 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 26 March 1980 | |
| Wikidata | 26 March 1980 | |
| US release | 26 March 1980 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1980 | earliest UK or European date |
31 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | GB | Warner Bros. Records | 07599234152 | other |
| — | XE | Warner Records | 081227954956 | other |
| — | US | Columbia House | 075992341523 | other |
| — | XE | Warner Records | 081227954956 | other |
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992341523 | other |
| 1980 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1980 | NL | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1980 | GB | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1980 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 26 March 1980 | US | Warner Bros. Records | original | |
| 1987 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992341523 | other |
| 1987 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 07599234152 | other |
| 25 April 1987 | JP | Warner–Pioneer Corporation | 4988014337939 | other |
| 1988 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 07599234152 | other |
| 10 September 1988 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014720328 | other |
| 1994 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992341523 | other |
| 2000 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624773924 | other |
| 2000 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624773924 | remaster |
| 19 September 2000 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624773924 | other |
| 23 April 2013 | CA | Rhino | 603497923243 | other |
| 2015 | US | Rhino | 081227954963 | remaster |
| 2015 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 081227954956 | remaster |
| 31 March 2015 | XW | Rhino | 603497892655 | remaster |
| 31 March 2015 | — | Warner Bros. Records | 603497892587 | other |
| 31 March 2015 | XW | Rhino | 603497894109 | other |
| 31 March 2015 | — | Rhino | 603497891252 | remaster |
| 10 July 2015 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227954956 | remaster |
| 22 July 2015 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674215010 | other |
| 10 August 2016 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674240494 | other |
| 23 March 2019 | JP | Rhino | 603497923243 | other |
| 13 March 2025 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797224567 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |