Video Classics: 'Hot for Teacher'

To honor WNEW's legendary Firecracker 500, every day we are highlighting the music that populated the 1991 and 1996 lists, with classic videos, live performances and little-known facts about the songs and how they came to be...

In the post-Mary Kay Letourneau era, where it seems a new teacher-student escapade makes the news almost daily, you could almost say that Van Halen's 1984 hit, Hot for Teacher was crafted in a more innocent time, though 'innocent' is probably one of the last adjectives anyone would use to describe the band. Notable for its wild, 'jungle drum' fills and some of Eddie Van Halen's finest guitar riffs, the song only peaked at #54, but comes in at spot #218 in the 1991 Firecracker 500.

The video features Van Halen as both adults and young students in a school filled with stunning teachers who apparently also like to strip off their clothes for beauty contests at a moment's notice. In short, it's a dream school in the minds of many adolescent boys. The Parents Music Resource Center protested both the video and the song for its suggestive lyrics and imagery, and called for it to be pulled from radio and TV, but they were ultimately unsuccessful.

'Waldo's' voiceovers for the video were done by the late Phil Hartman. Also worth noting in the video is another hint that David Lee Roth once aspired to be a game show host, and that Alex Van Halen, for all that he can keep a beat, has no sense of rhythm when it comes to dancing. After the jump, check out a wild live Van Halen performance from Live UK 1984.

Have memories of this song or the Firecracker 500? Add your thoughts to the comments below or take a look at Video Classics past...