Van Halen – “Hot for Teacher” (The 45 Single)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic

I was out the weekend after Eddie Van Halen passed away casually digging for records with no intent of really looking for anything. I was still a little down from him passing and nothing makes me feel better than digging through stacks and stacks of records (my wife and kids, of course make me feel better as well). I digging through a small batch of 45’s and this was nonchalantly hiding in that batch. I pulled it out and the owner of the store said “that must of slipped through as I completely sold out of everything Van Halen this week”…no surprise.

The single is really cool as it is a gatefold housed in a clear PVC sleeve. It also includes a mini 4-panel poster with each panel being a member of the band, naturally. The single itself was the same single as the one issued in 1984 and strangely has “Little Dreamer” from the debut album as the B-Side.

The mini poster is a nice little touch…

A-SIDE:

The single, “Hot For Teacher” was the fourth and final single off the ‘1984’ album and was released on October 27, 1984. The song only reached #56 on the Billboard charts, but it was another massive hit on MTV. The double bass drum opening of Alex Van Halen is unlike anything he had done before. Alex is a very underrated member of that band because his drum sound is just as identifiable to Van Halen as his brother’s guitar sound. And Eddie’s sound on this song is equally impressive. He has that extended opening guitar solo that transitions in to one killer riff and accompanied with Michael’s thumping bass and Alex’s drum beat, it is beast of a start to the song.

Dave’s spoken vocals and ad libs are the VH flair we expect from Mr. Roth. His singing is melodic and full of swagger and it is one of the most rocking tracks on ‘1984. And when you throw this song, the band and good looking teachers in to the mix, the video was also something to be seen. As a teenager in high school at this time, we didn’t have any teachers that look liked this.

B-SIDE:

They slow things down with “Little Dreamer”.  The song really highlights Dave’s vocal abilities as he is more soulful and less flamboyant which allows him to really shine.  Eddie’s little nuances thrown in to the song make it stand out as a very serious track for the band and shows that they aren’t a total party band, but that they have the chops and are a solid and talented rock & roll

And there you have it. A really cool find as it isn’t your typical paper/picture sleeve. I like the stuff that is done differently and this package is what I always look out for. That doesn’t mean if I don’t find the normal picture sleeve I won’t buy that one as well.

I hope you enjoyed and thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

20 thoughts on “Van Halen – “Hot for Teacher” (The 45 Single)”

  3. A total cool find John! What’s cool is that Little Dreamer is on the flip side. Not a live track no sir but a song as you mentioned from the debut album 6 years earlier. Mini poster features some good pics of the guys as well.
    Awesome stuff and thanks for sharing.

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  7. Listening to “Little Dreamer” while reading this and it’s not a bad track. I like that’s it’s not as heavy as the previous tracks, there were good harmonies, and the guitar solo wasn’t too over the top. I’m not a fan of David Lee Roth’s vocals, but I dig his vocals on that song. The double bass drum solo on “Hot For Teacher” at the time was the best thing I’ve ever heard!

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  8. Around the time A Different Kind of Truth came out, my radio buddy Craig was heading down to Pittsburgh and hit up Jerry’s Records. I asked him to keep an eye open for Van Halen singles, particularly 5150 era but I would take any with picture sleeves. Well did he deliver. I have at least a dozen VH singles from that trip plus he picked me up some Roth and Helix 12″ too. This was one of the weird ones he found! It’s certainly unique in my collection.

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