VAN HALEN released "5150" on March 24, 1986 — the first album with new vocalist Sammy Hagar and a landmark moment in hard rock history. Named after the California police code for an escaped mental patient, "5150" was the band's first album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, ironically their biggest commercial success coming after the departure of original frontman David Lee Roth. The album's polished, keyboard-heavy sound represented a dramatic shift from VAN HALEN's raw early records — "Why Can't This Be Love," "Dreams," and "Love Walks In" were radio-friendly melodic rock anthems far from the blues-influenced hard rock of "Eruption" and "Runnin' with the Devil." Critics were divided; fans bought it in millions. "5150" began a commercially successful if artistically controversial second chapter for one of rock's greatest bands.
