I'm not a fan of AC/DC except for a few songs and Angus Young, of course. Well, I guess I'm a bit of a fan after all. I can really go wild to "Whole Lotta Rosie", behind the wheel (on holiday), at home when I'm alone (or not). Thunderstruck is also great, but for me it doesn't quite match Rosie.
AC/DC
AC/DC is an Australian hard rock band (sometimes classified as heavy metal) from Sydney, formed in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. Although the band is often seen as a pioneer of hard rock, the members themselves have always classified their music as rock 'n' roll.
The lineup of AC/DC changed several times before releasing their first album, High Voltage, in 1975. After that, the lineup remained stable for a while until bassist Mark Evans was replaced by Cliff Williams in 1977. In 1979, the band recorded their very successful album Highway to Hell. The singer Bon Scott died on 19 February 1980 from acute alcohol poisoning. The group considered disbanding, but Brian Johnson – who had been the singer of Geordie – was quickly selected as a replacement. Later that year, the band's best-selling album, Back in Black, was released.
Breakthrough
Williams' bass playing was first heard on their album Powerage, which was released in spring 1978. This fact is disputed because Williams had problems obtaining a visa for Australia at the time of the recordings, and there are strong rumours that George Young played most of the bass parts on the album. Although they had no hits until then, their first big hit, Whole Lotta Rosie, was a fact in summer 1978. Over time, the song has become a classic and still ranks high in the Top 2000 every year. Shortly afterwards, the song "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" also became a (smaller) hit. After constant touring and making albums, a live album was released. A concert given in April 1978 in Glasgow was released as the album If You Want Blood You've Got It. The record offers an overview of early classics such as Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock and High Voltage.
The next album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, was also extremely successful and was the first AC/DC album to reach number one in the United States. AC/DC's popularity declined sharply after drummer Phil Rudd was replaced by Simon Wright in 1983. Phil Rudd returned to the band in 1994, after Chris Slade was asked to leave, to work on the 1995 album Ballbreaker. Five years later, the album Stiff Upper Lip was released and received predominantly positive reviews from critics. Rock or Bust is the most recent album and was released on 2 December 2014.
AC/DC has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, of which 71 million were in the United States. Back in Black, with 45 million copies, is the second best-selling album worldwide. AC/DC ranks fourth on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and seventh on MTV's list of "Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time". In 2004, the music magazine Rolling Stone released the list of "The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" with AC/DC in 72nd place.
On 7 March 2016, it was announced that lead singer Brian Johnson was suffering from severe hearing loss. The upcoming ten concerts in North America were postponed. More clarity about the future was expected later that month. On 17 April, it was announced that during AC/DC's European tour, singer Brian Johnson would be replaced by Axl Rose, who also took over for the postponed concerts in America. On AC/DC's official Facebook page, Brian Johnson was thanked for his contributions and dedication to the band over the years. In a statement a few days later, Johnson himself said that he was not out of the band but could not tour for the time being. He did not rule out making a new album.
In August 2016, bassist Cliff Williams indicated he wanted to stop after the Rock or Bust Tour. Williams said he wanted more time for himself. The tour ended in September. This marked the end of Williams' career in the band; he thanked his fans in a video message. It was also the end for Axl Rose, who had taken Brian Johnson's place since April. Much remains unclear about the band's future after the tour. The band has not yet announced anything about the future. Angus Young himself previously indicated he was not yet sure about retirement.
Malcolm Young
On 18 November 2017, it was announced that Malcolm Young had died at the age of 64. His death came a few weeks after the death of George Young.
Malcolm Young was the older brother of co-founder Angus Young. Malcolm played guitar in the band. In 2014, he stopped performing due to dementia. Malcolm was replaced in the band by his nephew Stevie Young.
Sunday Morning Classic: Let There Be Rock
On 27 June 2021, AC/DC was our guest as Sunday Morning Classic with the album Let There Be Rock.
"Let There Be Rock" is the fourth full studio album by the Australian hard/heavy rock act AC/DC. The album was originally released in Australia via Albert Productions in March 1977, but saw a changed (different cover and adjusted tracklist) worldwide release via Atlantic Records in June 1977. The original Australian version contained the track "Crapsody in Blue", but it was replaced by "Problem Child" on the international version. The latter was also featured on both the original Australian version and the international version of "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)".
"Let There Be Rock" is absolutely one of the highlights of AC/DC's 1970s discography (and there are quite a few high-quality releases to choose from). The music on the album is delivered with such conviction, passion and love for hard rock and overdriven bluesy rock'n'roll that I have to fully surrender. This is genuine and honest to the core. Sweaty and hard bluesy hard rock riffs, a driving rhythm section and Bon Scott's rusty mood to top it all off. This is classic AC/DC at their best. "Let There Be Rock" contains quite a few excellent rockers in "Go Down", "Let There Be Rock", "Bad Boy Boogie" and "Whole Lotta Rosie", but all the tracks on the international version of the album are great.
Wrapped in a powerful, warm and organic sound production, the music on "Let There Be Rock" is presented in the best possible way and it is actually very difficult to say anything negative about the release. The fingers on the grainy black and white cover of Let There Be Rock are not those of Angus or Malcolm Young. Chris Turner, from the Australian rockers Buffalo, was brought in to bend the strings for the no-nonsense cover, as neither of the Young brothers was available when the photo session failed.
Source: Wikipedia and Jan Liebregts
https://www.acdc.com/welcome
