An extensive new study shows that Van Halen is the 2nd highest played band on US rock radio!
This info is from a fascinating article on FiveThirtyEight.com on the state of rock radio in the US. Congrats to Van Halen for getting more spins across the country than nearly every other rock band! (Only Led Zeppelin gets more plays).
One interesting find from the study is that, despite being the second most played band in America, Van Halen didn’t make the 15 Most Played Songs list (see the chart below). In fact, none of the Top 4 most played bands (Led Zeppelin, VH, Rolling Stones & Pink Floyd, in that order) made the most played song list! Of course, all that means is that those four most played bands do not have just one or two specific songs that make up a large percentage of their plays—those four bands are played more than all other bands because they have a diverse list of songs on the radio—not just one or two radio staples.
The study also shows that Denver, specifically, plays more Van Halen than any other town.
What do you think are the most-played Van Halen songs on US radio? What are the ones you hear the most in your town? Are they all hits, or do you occasionally hear deep tracks?