1984 (written as MCMLXXXIV on the front cover) is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. One of the band's most popular albums (in terms of both record sales and chart performance), it was the final album featuring singer David Lee Roth until 2012 when the band released A Different Kind of Truth.

Eddie Van Halen, well known for his guitar prowess but also a classically-trained pianist, used 1984 as an opportunity to take the band into different territory. Additionally, 1984 was the first Van Halen album to be recorded at Eddie's home studio, 5150. His keyboard playing is more prominent on this album than on any prior Van Halen album, particularly on the songs "Jump" and "I'll Wait", the first and second singles from the album, and "1984", a one-minute synthesizer and effects instrumental (the effects had been used as part of Michael Anthony's live bass solo on the Diver Down tour) which opened the album.

The summer saw the release of the album's third single "Panama", which featured a heavy guitar riff reminiscent of Van Halen's earlier work (the engine noise was from Eddie revving up his Lamborghini, with microphones being used near the tailpipes). Later, a video of "Hot for Teacher" was released and played regularly on MTV, giving the band a fourth hit which further sustained sales of the album. Other songs on 1984 included "Girl Gone Bad", parts of which previously had been played during the same tour during performances of "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" (most famously at the US Festival show), the hard rock "Drop Dead Legs" and "Top Jimmy", a tribute to James Paul Koncek of the band Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs. The album concludes with "House of Pain", a fast paced heavy song that dates back to the band's early club days of the mid-1970s.

Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band achieved success after the release of its debut album Van Halen (1978). As of 2007, Van Halen has sold 75 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Van Halen is the 19th best-selling band/artist of all time with sales of over 56 million albums in the United States alone, and is one of five rock bands that have had two albums sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S. In 1996, the RIAA certified their debut album diamond for ten million in U.S. sales.

The band is also known for the drama surrounding the exits of former members. The multiple exits of lead singers David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone were surrounded in controversy and press coverage, including numerous conflicting press statements between the former singers and the band. Following their 2004 concert tour the band was on a hiatus from the public until September 2006, when new bassist Wolfgang Van Halen's place was confirmed and Roth reunion rumors began to re-surface, both events coinciding with the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction on March 12, 2007. After years of speculation, Van Halen began a tour with Roth across North America in 2007 and into 2008. On December 26, 2011, Van Halen announced a tour for 2012, and released their first album in 14 years, A Different Kind of Truth, on February 7, 2012.