AC/DC

History and Career

History and Career

AC/DC is one of the most influential hard rock bands from the 70’s, they are one of the defining sounds of rock and metal. With their minimalist style with huge and beating guitar chords that was paired by Scott’s larynx-shredding vocals, AC/DC have been imitated by different bands throughout the years.

Here are AC/DC’s top albums and hit songs:

Albums

  • High Voltage (1976)
  • Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)
  • Let There Be Rock (1977)
  • Powerage (1978)
  • Highway to Hell (1979)
  • Back in Black (1980)
  • For Those About to Rock We Salute You (1981)
  • Flick of the Switch (1983)
  • Fly on the Wall (1985)
  • Blow Up Your Video (1988)
  • The Razors Edge (1990)
  • Ballbreaker (1995)
  • Stiff Upper Lip (2000)
  • Black Ice (2008)
  • Rock or Bust (2014)

Hit Songs:

  • Problem Child
  • For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
  • You Shook Me All Night Long
  • Thunderstruck
  • Whole Lotta Rosie
  • Highway to Hell
  • Back in Black
  • Let There Be Rock
  • Shoot To Thrill
  • Hells Bells
  • It’s A Long Way to the Top (If You Want To Rock ‘n’ Roll)
  • Ride on

AC/DC was formed in Australia after Malcom Young’s band, the Velvet Underground, disbanded in 1973. He started playing gigs around Sydney with his little brother Angus Young as his lead guitarist. Angus was still 15 years old that time and their little sister suggested that he should wear his school uniform during performances to give the band a trademark look. They moved to Melbourne after a year and there they were joined by Phil Rudd, Mark Evans and Bon Scott as their drummer, bassist and vocalist. Bon Scott was originally the band’s chauffeur but he was forced to be the band’s vocalist when Mark Evans refused to perform on stage during a gig. Scott have a lot of experience being in a band because he was previously part of progressive rock bands Fraternity and The Valentines Because of his previous minor criminal offenses, conviction and a rejected application for the Australian Army for being “socially maladjusted” he gave the band a more brute image.

AC/DC released the albums High Voltage and T.N.T in Australia in 1974 and 1975. The materials in the albums was used in the 1976 United States and UK release of their album High Voltage. They also began to tour the United States and UK for the album’s promotion. Later that year, they released their album, Dirty Deeds Done Cheap. And in the fall of 1977, AC/DC released their fifth studio album, Let There Be Rock which was their first album to enter the U.S Charts. But after this album’s release, Mark Evans left the band and he was replaced by Cliff Williams. Their sixth album, Powerage was released in 1978 which made their audience reach expand eve further. But what really brought AC/DC the international success was their 1979 album, Highway to Hell. The album reached the number seventeen spot in the United States countdown and number eight in the UK charts. Highway to Hell was the band’s first record that have sold a million copies.

But AC/DC’s train to success got derailed when their drummer Bon Scott died on February 1980. The doctors said that the drummer drank himself to death. On March that same year, the band carried on and replaced Bon Scott with Brian Johnson. The band then released their album, Back in Black which became their biggest album selling over ten million copies in the United States alone. From that moment, AC/DC became one of the world’s largest rock bands. They followed up Back in Black with the album For Those About to Rock We Salute You, which earned the top spot in the US charts. And in 1983, the band released their album Flick of the Switch. But it was revealed that after recording this album, Paul Rudd left the band and he was replaced by Simon Wright.

With the release of Flick of the Switch, AC/DC’s popularity began to drop and they were not able to regain the public attention until their 1990 album The Razor’s Edge. The album featured the hit single “Thunderstruck”. While this album did not receive any critical acclaims or market success compared to their previous albums, AC/DC was able to maintain their popularity status because of their international concert draw. In 1995, they released their album “Ballbreaker” which was met with positive reviews. It entered the US charts at the number four spot and sold over a million copies during the first six months of its release. Their 2000 follow up album Stiff Upper Lip also received similar reviews. AC/DC signed a multi-million contract with Sony in 2001 which resulted into  reissues and DVD release of their previous albums. In 2008, they released the album Black Ice which featured new collection of songs and was followed by a world tour. In 2010, AC/DC’s songs were heavily featured in the Marvel film, Iron Man 2 which also paved way for a compilation album that was released with the same title as the movie.

In 2014, AC/DC began to work on their new album in which they also announced that Malcolm Young was unable to perform because he was suffering from dementia. His nephew, Stevie Young took his place during the recording sessions and joined the band for their 40th anniversary tour and eventually, he decided to join the band full-time. Just before the band released their album Rock or Bust in 2014, their drummer Paul Rudd was arrested due to attempted murder, possession of cannabis and methamphetamine. Eventually the charges against him were dropped and he remained the band’s drummer. AC/DC carried on with the release of Rock or Bust and embarked on a tour in 2015. And in November 2017, Malcom Young died at the age of 64.