Today was the day in 1986 that Van Halen's new project with Sammy Hagar taking over as front-man, the album "5150" went to the #1 spot on the U.S. Charts.  It only took 32 days to accomplish it.   1984 came close and

Van Halen 5150
Warner Brothers
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would have been #1 had it not been for the bad luck of trying to push "Thriller" out of the top spot.  It couldn't ... so it peaked at #2.

"5150" ultimately has not sold more copies than either VH-1 or 1984 but it WAS their first #1 album.  And, it started a string of four-in-a-row.  All 4 of the studio albums with Sammy Hagar went to #1 on the U.S. Charts.  So believe what you will and say what you will... the Sammy era was no fluke.  I loved both versions of the band, and still say VH-1 was my favorite, but Sammy was more likeable and easier for us radio people to deal with by far.  And he was definitely my personal favorite.

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