AC / DC are without any doubt the Rock band by definition. Australians, though of Scottish descent, are a live steamroller and boast some of the most legendary songs in hard rock history in all its forms. So great and unique that they were able to survive the loss of their first vocalist, the charismatic Bon Scott, who died of alcohol poisoning shortly after recording a definitive work like Highway to Hell. Not only did they move on as a band, but they also came back with a new singer, Brian Johnson, and Back In Black under their arm. The second best-selling album in history.
1. It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock ‘n’ Roll)
Where do you start to define the tune that has become the hymn of striving musicians throughout the planet? There’s the iconic cry and answer to the bagpipes, a greeting to the Scottish culture shared by vocalist Bon Scott and the band’s founders, the Young brothers. There’s the Australian schoolyard joke, “It’s a long way to the shops if you want a sausage roll.” And then there’s that music video, strolling the streets of Melbourne creating a ruckus in the back of a flatbed vehicle (fun fact: in 2004, a nearby road was named after the band as a tribute).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sUXMzkh-jI
2. Jailbreak
Like much of AC / DC’s early work, Jailbreak was not heard outside of Australia for years after its release – the single was only released to US stores in the early ’80s after the band’s international album Back in. Black, which followed the tragic death of Bon Scott in 1980. Meanwhile, local audiences were bathing the quintessential Australian underdog story of a botched prison break, “All in the name of freedom!”
3. T.N.T.
Acca Dacca sang ‘Oi! Oi! Oi! ‘years before British punks embraced the battle cry, led by guitarist Angus Young, whose hoarse grunts were as distinctive as his walk in the water and his sweat-soaked schoolboy uniform. This explosive track captures the grungy blue-neck sound AC / DC is famous for, now a concert fan favorite for over four decades.
4. Whole Lotta Rosie
Politically correct, this song is not. Dozens of AC / DC songs recount Bon Scott’s extensive sexual history, but none of his lovers are as beloved as Rosie, a woman of ample proportions who amazes Bon with her dexterity and vigor between the sheets. Live performances are accompanied by the crowd chanting ‘Angus!’ as soon as they catch the scent of that energetic riff, as well as a huge inflatable Rosie that, well, defies polite description.
5. Hells Bells
The first thing you hear on the Back in Black album is the ringing of church bells, a sound that mourns Bon Scott’s death months earlier and welcomes a new era for new singer Brian Johnson. Described as the best comeback album in rock history, the most radio-friendly Back in Black represents AC / DC’s commercial breakthrough abroad, selling 50 million copies to become the second best-selling album. Jackson’s thriller. And it all started with Hells Bells.
6. Thunderstruck
The rest of the ’80s was a decade-long nightmare for AC / DC. Drummer Phil Rudd was fired in 1983 for a fight with Malcolm Young, while critics criticized the albums Blow Up Your Video, Fly on the Wall and Flick of the Switch that they could not live up to Johnson’s debut, Back in Black. . But the band re-formed in 1990 with The Razors Edge, which debuted with Thunderstruck, a frenetic track that’s as electric as the title promises.
7. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Maybe the recording executives thought the topic was too creepy for America’s puritan ears because this topic about a financial hitman was another one that hung on the shelf for five years between its release in Australia and America, it took the crushing success of Back in Black to bring it to the US in 1981. Despite the violent lyrics, the live performances of this staple concert today are more joyous than threatening.
8. You Shook Me All Night Long
If a song about a hit man-made labels prissy, this sassy tune about dirty deeds of a very different kind would have doomed those prudish executives. Despite the spicy lyrics – “She told me to come but I was already there” – this track is easily AC / DC’s biggest radio hit thanks to a sound that’s easier to play than many of the early albums. band.
9. Highway To Hell
It might be a long way to the top, but it’s not always rosy when you get to the top: Angus Young described AC / DC’s exhausting touring schedule in the late ’70s as a’ highway to hell ”, inspiring this classic track. The lyrics – “No stop signs, speed limit, no one’s going to slow me down” – took on a darker complexion when Bon Scott was found dead in a friend’s car in London a few months later, dying of alcohol poisoning. sharp.
10. Back In Black
If this isn’t the most iconic guitar riff in rock history, it has to be in the finale, and that’s not the only reason to classify Back in Black as AC / DC’s greatest hit. The title track of their hit album Back After Bon Scott’s death was the band’s tribute to their fallen leader, not just moving poignant lines like “Nine Lives.” Cat eyes. Abusing each one of them and running wild, “but also showing that there was much life left in the band thanks to a new lead singer worthy of filling Bon’s boots.