March 26, 1980. Van Halen releases their third album a year and three days after releasing their second. Cradles everywhere are rocked.
I wrote about Van Halen’s work ethic in this post celebrating the anniversary of Van Halen II. The band took the same approach to Women and Children First that they did for that second album: waste no time. Tour, write, record, release. Gotta respect that. And the fruits of their labor were heavier, too.
Fun fact? That iconic riff at the beginning of “And the Cradle Will Rock…” ain’t a guitar riff. It’s an electric piano, phase-shifted and played through a vintage 1960s Marshall Plexi amp. So now you can listen to a VH fave you’ve heard hundreds of times through new ears.