AC DC And This Classic Rock Riff That Ignited The 80s | Professor of Rock
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- The story of AC/DC’s hard rock classic Back In Black from there 1980 album of the same name. Bon Scott has just passed and Angus Young and brother Malcolm brought in Brian Johnson who helped AC/DC rise to the top of the album charts. including an interview with Phil Carson.
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When brothers Malcolm & Angus Young formed AC/DC in ’73, believe it or not, the group was labeled as ‘Glam Rock,' largely because of the on-stage persona of their original lead singer Dale Evans. The Glam Rock image did nothing to distinguish AC/DC from other bands who were working the same circuit in Australia in the early 70s.
however, the fiery showmanship of the Young brothers left an impression on anyone who saw one of those early AC/DC shows.
To the concert promoters in the Australia, what the band really needed to do was get rid of their lead singer, and get a new front man. So, that’s exactly what they did.
Malcolm & Angus hired a new manager named Michael Browning to help navigate their pivotal transition. Already on the outs with the rest of the band, Evans got into a physical altercation with Browning after an AC/DC show and was officially fired.
Enter Ronald Belford Scott, a journeyman musician from Scotland that everybody called “Bon.” Bon’s family moved from Scotland to Australia, and young Bon played in several bands- the Spektors, the Valentines, and Fraternity- an outfit that later changed their name to Fang. He was primarily as a drummer in the first phase of his professional career. None of the bands that Bon performed in made any headway, so Bon had to take a day job shoveling manure at a fertilizer plant, before joining yet another band called the Mount Lofty Rangers as the group’s lead singer.
About a year into his stint with the Mount Lofty Rangers, Bon got into an alcohol induced confrontation with one of the band members, and raced off on his Suzuki motorcycle. Bon crashed his motorcycle and was rushed to the emergency ward where he was in a coma for 3 days- on the verge of death.
He recovered from the injury, and began doing odd jobs at a booking agency where his wife worked, and met Malcom & Angus’s older brother George Young. AC/DC had sacked Evans, so they were on the hunt for a new lead singer, and many people told George that they should get Bon Scott. There were immediate issues with Bon that concerned the members of AC/DC, and George Young, who was one of the band’s producers.
They thought Bon might be too inexperienced as a front man, and that, at 28 years old, he might be “too old.” After a late night jam session, it was obvious that AC/DC had found their new front man, and Bon Scott joined AC/DC in 1974- even though he actually began working for the band as their chauffeur.
Poll: What do you consider the best song from each era of AC/DC?
70s: "Dirry Deeds"
80s: ""Back in Black:
90s: "Thunderstruck"
Let there be rock. Who made who. Thunderstruck.
70's let there be rock
80's hells bells
90's razors edge
Let there be rock bon, for those about to rock Brian. (Tbh there are way more for both ) these came to mind first.
Back in black
Thunderstruck
Almost like shoot to thrill
Posted somewhere:
These guys were in their 20’s and rocking in the 70’s
Now they are in their 70’s and are rocking in the 20’s
so true
Very astute observation - well done.
Nice wordplay!
Love that!
That was also on an ozzy osbourne video
There's just no band like AC/DC. I just turned 59, and I still listen to them almost everyday. What a great coming of age band.🎸
Back in black was massive for me. Blew me away at 13 years old. When I started work at 16 I bought all the back catalogue over a few months. My mam used to have to listen to me blasting out all this hard rock from my bedroom and one day she asked if I'd do her a compilation tape of the the ones with the "beats" that she liked as she put it. Fast forward a few weeks and I come home one day with my mates and find my mam rocking out to AC/DC whilst vacuuming the front room. For just a moment she was the coolest mother in the world! Happy memories.
Wonderful story. I can picture the scene!
😂
That would have weirded me the hell out.
15 and have loved them ever since!
14 yo - during lunch I hear someone's truck blasting out, "the best damn woman..."
I had to find out who that was. !!!
One year later at a dance, the DJ tried to wake us up with Back in Black. He had the music synced with lights. 1st time all night the bright white flood lights filled a darkened room to the opening beats of Back in Black!!! For the 1st hour of the dance, those pop songs barely made the smaller color lights blink around with Cyndi Lauper style songs, we were truly bored and not dancing at a school dance. It worked!!!!
We were all on our feet!!!
Next up was the first song 🎵 You shook me all night long. Friends finally told me it was ACDC!!!
Suddenly, memories of sitting in my cousin's car playing his Pioneer stereo a few years earlier with Highway to H*ll, (along with Funky Town). The only two songs I knew the older, back then High Schoolers liked!!!
Boom, it made sense! It took from 1981 to 1985 to figure out who my favorite band was named!!! I have been; my favorite band has been ACDC ever since!! Deep purple a clear 2nd. Then everyone else!!It took me a long time to catch on to the other greats like Nugent, Ozzie, Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Styx, and on it goes, etc..... By 1986, I could identify new ACDC in 3 beats!!!! Who made Who!!!
The information highway, at least for me moved very slowly back in those days - hahaha 😆
(child of the 80s)
..rural Panhandle South Plains of far West Texas !!!!
Bon and Brian are both perfect for AC/DC. Legends.
Exactly
NAILED IT.
It’s a Long way to the top -If Your 4 feet Tall’
Bon set them up, Brian took them to the world.
@Victor Smit 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤟
Back in Black is more than just a epic album, it's a phenomenal rock n roll experience!
It is a perfect album
You can say that again! It's really phenomenal. Every. Single. Song.
Agreed.
Should go down in history as the best hard rock album ever released because it really is
Damn right.
I was a big AC/DC fan in the Bon Scott era and was crushed when he died. I was so sure that we had all heard the last of them. So, I'll never forget where I was the first time I heard Back In Black. It blew me away and I remember thinking, "Wow! Somehow they got even better!" I still listen to them all the time. One of the greatest hard rock bands ever. Thanks for telling us the stories of these iconic songs.
With Bon they were kind of epic trash culture and with Brian they became just epic.
I was a young sailor in the US Navy, a freind on my first ship asked me if I liked "weird rock and roll"... he was from Alabama and was more into country rock. I said sure and he handed me a homemade cassette his sister had sent to him. It was the full album of Back in Black. I was amazed and became a huge fan of the "little band from Australia". That cassette was copied at least 50 times and distributed around the ship and fleet, during that Wet Pac cruise. Thanks for your story!
Bon was from my home town and I grew up with them on Countdown in OZ. I remember the first time I saw Bon dressed as a schoolgirl on national TV singing Baby, please dont go and was hooked for life. When this album came out I had just started my first job in a small country town and it was a special order from the record store. I put it on my cars tape deck on the way home and didn't stop driving until it finished. I was almost in tears that the band had survived and honoured Bon so well. Thanks for bringing back the memories.
Nice 🔥
th-cam.com/video/PyJFcsn8B08/w-d-xo.html for those looking for that performance. Epic!
@@jhamptonjr Apparently none of the band knew about the outfit until he turned up just before taping, thats why they were smiling so much! Hall of fame performance...
ha!.... was big laughs in the schoolyard on Monday morning
@@erlstone Exactly what I was going to say.....I was in first form and that's all the girls were talking about
The singles didn’t chart well because everyone bought the album 😎
Correct
Too right. The Panel Van wasn't decked out right if you didn't have this playing on your car stereo as you were cursin' the main drag.
Singles were always dumbed down versions of the album tracks. That goes for all hard rock bands.
True
@@Tony-Waldron ahhh, but which one? Sandman, drifter, sundowner or gypsy.
Aussies will know.
Back in Black tour was the loudest concert I ever attended. The bank of speakers was 50 feet tall. My hearing has been damaged ever since. And totally worth it...
What?
- "He said French, thousand island or vinaigrette."
Love the Brian Johnson years but Bon Scott is the man.
I feel the same.
Agreed
i guess we all have a specific feeling about that. Bon was a kind of mentor, for me. Brian is more like a buddy. Both are amazing, in their ways. I am just more tied to Bon because it's his voice that hooked me on Go Down, the very first AC/DC track i've ever heard.
Both are iconic, I was never into comparing the two like everyone does, I respect them both, they offered something different to the bands legacy
As an Aussie kid growing up with AC/DC, we never really realised how huge they were to become on the world stage. They were just a great local band that we all loved. I remember when Back in Black was released, nearly everyone in my friends circle had purchased the album, which is probably why the singles never really charted all that well down under. Anyway, great episode professor.
It makes me smile, knowing you in Australia say Acca Dacca. 🙂
@@pandorafox3944 we also can't spell AC/DC 🤣
My four year old son has a black tee shirt that has "AB/CD" with "Highway To Spell" underneath. Just like the album cover. Love it.
@ Yeah, where do we get them??? LOL!!!
My son has one that says AD/HD.. LOL!
My kid had one that said AD/HD
When i was in college we had em that said Geo/Club
For those about to rock
I want one.😊
While I'm in the generation that grew up on the Beatles and they will always be my favorite band, I will say that if an Alien 👽 came down and asked me to explain what Rock and Roll music is, I would just play them this Album.
best answer ever!!!
Awesome response for sure. I may respond just the opposite. I grew up with AC/DC but would probably play the Beatle's if introducing rock to an alien!
@@leskobrandon691 they heard it all by now if it got beamed to a satellite, I hope they don't like Rap....if so, we are doomed!!!!!
My dad won a radio contest where he had to answer this question: who sang the Banana boat song. He got it right and got the album 1 day before it was released. Still have that album today
I love that! Was it the vinyl?
When I was 15 we went cross country and I wanted an AC/DC album. But I messed up and bought Heatseaker because it was the most recent album. So I listened to that album on my Toshiba (Walkman clone) for 5 weeks straight. It’s still a great album. It’s my lawnmowing album. AC/DC can cut right through the lawnmower’s drone.
And this year, my Asian cousins and I finally got visual proof that Brian Johnson is a family member on my Korean side. He’s in our family tree. And ironically my surname is also Johnson.
That's badass!
@@zzkeokizz i was always rocking my “Sanyo” in the early 80s. my dad complained about how dangerous it was riding my bicycle at night listening to walkman. i still maintained that it was safer than the daytime because i could see their lights. matters not. i lived until adult hood.
Rock n Roll is here to STAY! and nobody has done more Staying than me!
@@ProfessorofRock indeed. He even got a pair of devil horns
I honestly thought ACDC was over when Bon died, didn't even want to hear back in black originally but when I did how could you not be more blown away. I still perfer Bon but that's just an opinion. Back in black took ACDC to the top, well deserved, and they kept it going with massive albums that rocked. RIP Bon you started this rise and Brian carried it on with this album
That's interesting. Just this week I've heard that from several people who didn't want to hear the album and then ended up being their favorite.
@@ProfessorofRock it was hard because we didn't want to believe Bon was gone
After Back in Black it was a steady slide of average material. Flick Of The Switch am was really average. Yes a few shone out and were occasionally played live but it wasn’t until Ballbreaker the band started to get back their mojo.
@@davidreed3246 hard to argue those points
@@davidreed3246 "Flick Of The Switch" was "better" than "For Those About To Rrrawk" in my opinion - I agree with you to a point: the mid 80s and early 90s LPs and Production left a lot to be desired BUT "Flick" was a KICK ASS ALBUM with GREAT riffs and drumming.
After Bon’s death I thought they would never be able to get anyone that could carry the torch like he did. Then, one evening in about April of 1980, I was listening to. my radio, one of the local rock stations, and this song came on that blew me away! It was Shoot to Thrill, the second track on the album.
I was into AC/DC Let There Be Rock, and thought this new lead singer was a worthy successor. Next day I bought the album, and, wow! Blistering, hard rocking and amazing!
It's hard to not put this album on AC/DC's greatest hits. Almost every song is instantly recognizable and is definitely some of their best stuff.
Nailed it Prof! When I heard AC/DC in 1981 when my cousin showed me the Album and played it, I knew I just listened to history. At 54 years young now I know I called it!
Bon Scott was such an influential frontman and now he is standing with the rock gods, were he belongs
Very true.
I never liked AC/DC back in their heyday. Liked them more as I grew up. But you have opened my eyes and mind even more with what you've taught me about them. Lyrics and all. Never judge a book by its cover. That's what I get out of a lot of your documentaries.
Thank you Professor
I had only heard of AC/DC when Highway came out, I liked it. I remember I was a freshman in high school just after Black came out and a friend had an AC/DC T shirt on, I was like, yeah I’ve heard of them and he told me about the new album, and said I should listen to it. It was such an amazing time for hard rock music back then. We had the new wave of British Metal, the very early beginnings of hair metal, ahh our youth…… where has the time gone?
growing up in the 70's and listening to albums, I would normally have to listen a couple of times before I would appreciate the music. But with Back in Black I was hooked immediately and now over 40 years later still get that feeling every time I hear any song from the album
Back in my radio days, we had an engineer who was a true believer in AC/DC. He was crestfallen when Bon Scott passed. I was the station's music director at the time and I got an advanced copy of Back in Black. I took a listen knew it was spectacular. So I called the engineer into a studio, sat him down, dimmed the lights and asked him to listen to a "new album." As soon as he heard that opening riff and Brian's vocal on Back in Black, he broke down into tears. I'll never forget that day....
I was a huge fan when I was in high school and loved watching them on the Australian TV show countdown in the 1970s. I was at their concert in Sydney, Australia for their Back in Black tour in 1980. I had just finished high school and I, along with a bunch of mates got together and decided to go to their concert to celebrate.
Little did we know, that we would be experiencing a part of Rock history. For me, this album brings back memories of all my high school mates and the good times we had together.
I remember my dad showing me back in black when I was about 5. At the time he was just my mom's boyfriend, but we'd drive around and rock out to acdc and he taught me how to play air guitar while we rocked out lol. They eventually got married and he adopted me, and then we'd spend so much of my childhood rocking out. Rock n roll was a way for us to bond. He eventually bought me guitars and encouraged my friends and I to start bands in my teens. I remember I was playing a show once, and during soundcheck, back in black was playing, and I remember thinking about my dad (he passed by then) and how I was where I was because my dad taught me how to rocn out to acdc. They'll always have a big spot in my heart.
Christmas 1979, my older sister gave her boyfriend the Highway to Hell album as a present. Seeing the cover, I wanted to hear it. Hearing it, I thought it was the greatest thing ever.... until Back in Black came out. I bought it the first chance I could and I was hooked on AC/DC.
I was 35 years old and out of work when the song came out. It always meant to me: The world can't stop me. They've done their worst, and I almost gave up, but I'm back as strong as ever, and nothing can stop me now.
Back in black was the first guitar solo I ever learned. It took me 6 days to be able to play the whole thing. Man I thought I was the coolest. Good memories
Brother, I was 7 years old when this album came out and I won it from a stand on the boardwalk in Keansburg, NJ. That started a hard rock and heavy metal live affair that I have never abandoned! I took my daughters to see the Black Ice tour when they were 8 and 11 years old. Back in Black still my all time favorite album and the Thunder from Down Under are still my all time favorite band! RIP Bon and Mal
I grew up in Keansburg. Spent my share of time at the board walk....
Back In Black was the first album I ever bought with my own money as a kid. I wore it out playing it all the time. I was 11 years old, and later that same year I would play it in the hospital room to keep my spirits up. I was in the hospital getting cancer treatment for AML Leukemia.
Who would buy one of their singles from Back in Black when buying the album would give you a whole package of songs worthy of single release and no fillers?
Bon Scott Died, 3 days before I came home from the hospital 🏥 after my near death auto accident. I came home on February 23rd, 1980. I was devastated when I heard the news. Then later that year. Out came THE MOST POWERFUL ROCK ALBUM OF ALL TIME. AC/DC BACK IN BLACK!!!
The Back in Black album was played before all rock concerts at the Sydney Entertainment Centre which was the old concert venue in Sydney where international and big local artists play. Whether it was Bon Jovi, Poison, Motley Crüe, Metallica, whoever, that album was played as the audience was entering the arena and finding their seats.
I grew up with the music played on "Countdown" here in Australia. The first time I say ACDC, Bonn was dressed as a school girl singing "Baby please dont go" I thought what the hell is this, but I loved it as it was raw and powerful. Every time they would appear after that it was more powerful and made you feel good. It was a breath of fresh air from all the English and American acts that seemed to dominate our charts. Thank god for ACDC and other Australian hard rock acts.
AC/DC first captured me with the “It’s a long way to the top” video on Countdown . In the late 1970’s when I had grown up a bit and had a son I got a real thrill out of the fact that, from his pre-school years, he loved them too. After his final high school exams he and several of his mates took me to a live AC/DC concert here in Perth. Bon shares a cemetery with early members of my family, just a few kilometres from where I live.
Love AC/DC. I was serving a tour at Canadian Forces Station Alert (the northernmost continually inhabited place on earth) late in 1981, and our new Commanding Officer sent a directive for us DJs that worked the radio station. The directive stated that from that moment on we were to only play easy-listening music during meal hours. I happened to be on at lunch time, so precisely at noon I spun Hells Bells. I'll never forget.
Your stories are amazing. I hear Back in Black every day. A local station runs it at least twice morning and afternoon.
I had worked for a month taking care of my neighbors yards while they were on vacation. They were so impressed that they doubled my pay! The next time my family and I went to the mall, I went straight to Tower Records and bought several albums. I bought Back in Black on a whim. I had no idea that Bon Scott had died. I remember the guy at the register saying, "you're going to love that record kid!" I played that record non-stop for three days. To preserve my vinyl I decided to copy it on cassette tape. That same day my parents bought me headphones.
Had virtually every AC/DC album on vinyl, then cassette, then cd, now digital (still have vinyl and cd). One of my all time favorite rock bands 💚
I remember the lines at the record store to buy Back in Black. I was in it.
I was so young when Back in Black came out and but clearly remember that was like the biggest rock album of the year. Talk about making a comeback after a tragedy.
Hey Professor,
I was born in January of 1967. The first record I personally bought was the single “Strawberry Letter 23” by The Brothers Johnson. My other favorite song at the time was “Le Freak” by Chic. My dad had quite the cassette collection so I grew up hearing bands like Cheap Trick, The Cars and the like as well as Billy Joel and Cat Stevens, The Lovin Spoonful and so on.
For my 14th birthday I was gifted AC/DC Back in Black. This album alone is responsible for my awakening into the world of hard rock and heavy metal, my two favorite genres. I had a single speaker GE cassette player that I would play on the school bus. When “Rock & Roll ain’t Noise Pollution” would start I would turn it all the way up. I don’t recall any of my peers objecting but the Bus Driver was none too happy. The moment the bell chimes I’m instantly transported back to that bus. That album alone led me down the path to musical bliss.
What an album.. I can remember being in scouts , getting told off for singing Rock n Roll ain't noise pollution at the top of my lungs.. and my old man cut up the cover of my Back in Black cassette to make something.. I was livid.. haha
The raw power of the song makes me feel strong. Stronger than even We Will Rock You makes me feel.
The Bon Scott tribute song is "Have a Drink On Me", also Brian says his first song was "You Shook Me All Night Long"
There is video of Bon singing You Shook Me
@@timz9862 link it
@@silentdagger1166 Sorry, audio not video. But here you go: th-cam.com/video/1lwfLNjBi4k/w-d-xo.html
It is possible that it's not him, but a cover band instead, but it sounds like him, and the lyrics are definitely something he'd write.
@@timz9862 that isn't bon I've heard it before just a soundalike trying to stir the pot. Bon didn't write anything ok BIB and the title track was written as a tribute to him after his death. The Youngs had music mostly done for the album but just before they was gonna get together with bon so he could add lyrics to the songs he unfortunately passed away. That is why it was such a quick and smooth transition to Brian all they had to do was write lyrics and record the album as most of the music was already done. It was 4 months from from his death till the BIB release but in those days they made an album a year sometimes 2 in one year. It isn't that crazy to think they could have finished it that quickly with all I've said. They loved bon like a brother there is no way they don't credit him on the album had he wrote some or all of it. He isn't credited.
@@timz9862 It's not him at all...
There are two albums that stick out in my mind from when I was young, where I remember on my first listen that I was so blown away I listened start to finish without a word. The first one was Boston, the second was AC/DC Back in Black. I had been waiting to get a cassette of Back in Black and couldn't find it. My cousin had come over in his parents LTD so we went cruising and talking catching up on things. I looked down and there in his little cassette carrying case was Back in Black. I had to hear it. He said to listen to it we should park somewhere cause it was too good to be distracted. He put it in the player on the car, cranked it up and we did not talk until both sides were complete. I was hooked from the first sounds to the last. Those experiences can never be duplicated or replaced. It was a special time in rock. Highway to hell was still gaining traction and the emotion of Bon's passing as well as the thought that this great band may never play again made the album that much more powerful.
bons age was perfect ...gave the group of young guys..teens in angus's case , the look of a world weary working man ...gave the music a look of toughness to match the sound. bon was perfect...one of the most distinctive voices in rock history....twice...pretty crazy how lightning struck twice
i like how the bass player plays the 3rd note of the 3rd chord because Malcolm rarely played 3rds in his chords. whenever i listen to a band cover BnB i always listen intently to the bass. most miss that. i don’t know their bass players name but that was subtle genius there.
Agree 100% it's a very subtle thing for most people but when the bass player plays that 3rd it just takes it to another level
I play upright in a bluegrass band and I like to sneak that third in there sometimes. It adds something nice to the sound and not many bluegrassers do it. Now I know where I got the idea from.
@@dale116dot7 yea. in bluegrass circles often that can be blasphemous. i get treated like a bastard at a family reunion when i delve away from a root or 5 on the down or upbeats. and often, especially if there’s no mandolin i like to slap out the “chop chord” that the mandolin plays for rhythmic support. you’d think i was the devil incarnate when i do that. that’s when i take my Cartman “Screw You Guys, I’m going home” cue
At that time my brother died in a car accident, I was 10 at the time, diving into ac/dc highway to hell/back in black albums helped me cope with a loss of a sibling and propelled me into the world of guitar which I still play to this day. Not enough can be said about the global and cultural influence these blokes have gifted the world.
In 1980 myself and 2 mate started playing AC/DC’s new album Back in Black on a cassette in a bench seat panel van, we cruised around town played it continuously until it couldn’’t be played any more and we bought a new copy. We were massive Bon Scott fans and still are but this album was sensational.
Hard to view AC/DC as glam rock. Love these videos Adam! Very informative, entertaining and educational!
Much appreciated!
You've got to watch the video for the original recording of Can I Sit Next to You, Girl? It's...an experience.
Funny how you're putting so much faith in a guy who talks pure Bull shit.
I do Live in Oz I was there when it all began When Acca Dacca first came on the scene , all us adolescent lads Loved them, "Can I sit next to you Girl"..."She's got Big Balls" It was a Guy thing any Party would have the "Boys" in a Group Belting out the songs, whilst the ladies would be looking on in disdain It was not just the Driving rock beat, but "Bons" lyrics took it to another level that we could all relate to (and have a Sly smile) I can remember when they moved to England , and the Rock Press were trying to categories them wanting to put them in the "Heavy Metal Group" (never have been) As Angus said in in an interview at the time "We're just a rock and roll band' we just play Chuck Berry Simple as That Christo R.I.P. Bon
I was a young soldier when Bon died and a guy in the bed space next to me had an AC/DC tape that he played constantly and that was drilled into my head. The band symbolises for me that time when things could go from boredom to high octane in a second.👍. Love the band, love their sound although I am more likely to be heard playing classical gas on my Ovation the riff from Thunderstruck is never far away.
Back in Black came out when I was a High School Sophomore and our student body president was in a band that almost exclusively covered AC/DC songs, their band would occasionally perform during school lunch hours and he was able to convince the school administrators to play AC/DC songs from this album over the school's public announcement system during class change time (supposedly to improve school spirit).
I became a huge fan of AC/DC because of this unique introduction to this album and its resulting association with my high school experience. My little sister who is a self-proclaimed Carpenters and Captain & Tennille fan even likes this album because this was also her high school freshman year, to this day she still won't listen to any other AC/DC songs but loves songs from the Back in Black album.
I even took my family including my 4 young sons to watch AC/DC perform as the headline act for the last day of a rock festival which was held at the Mainz, Army Airfield in Germany, where I was stationed in the early 1990s.
Kickin' band, love their catalog.
Rock on! Thanks for watching!
Being from Australia AC/DC is an institution! No night at the pub is complete without a few accadacca songs! Not my favorite band of all time, not even my favorite Aussie band (Cold Chisel) but they are THE band when you think of Aussie music and they were absolutely the soundtrack of the late 70's early 80's.
The reverence they are held in here is something else, i'm sure it's akin to the pride the Brits have in The Beatles, or the Stones.....
Back in Black is their masterpiece, and though Bon was already gone, this album doesn't become what it has without his legacy!
So many great times with AC/DC in the late 70's, and 80's. Friends use to come to my house to listen to Highway to Hell & Back in Black as their parents would freak if they knew their kids were listening. So many great intro's, so many great songs, but my favorite air guitar song is You Shook me all Night Long. Did it at my daughters wedding reception and it was so fun!
1975 I saw AC/DC live at local youth club in Daceyville. Sydney . My neck was sore for weeks after imitating Angus all night. I never forget Angus jumping on top of speaker stack for a solo. Incredible memories of a great band. What a night. !
"If you loved the smell of new albums or the taco shell aroma of those new clear cassette tapes, you've came to the right place!"
Thanks Adam 👍.
Back In Black was just not a great album, but a fitting tribute to Bon Scott. And he had the foresight (premonition?) to name Johnson as his successor. Very cool.
Great story eh?
@@ProfessorofRock not so sure it was only when when he got to England that he saw him though... there's footage here on yt of Geordie performing little Richard covers on Australian tv in 1974..
Not the same era, but at 11 in '91 the first musical gift I ever recieved was "Back in Black" and my favorite song after my first listen was the title track and I played it every morning for the next 2 years. From there my musical journey changed as I was very interested in the roots of rock and my discovery of R&B made me really enjoy more genres than just rock. I fell into metal which moved further from the R&B origins, modern R&B, Rap, and of course the early 90s requisite grunge which actually felt very R&B heavy to me. I know very little aside from the fact that I like most music in general but that was how Back in Black affected me.
Back in Black is the album that started it all for me. It’s the reason I’m into music as much as I am. It’s also the reason I love the SG. My dad played it once on the house audio system, and I was hooked.
One of the best R&R informational videos I've ever seen. I'm 68yrs and been a musician since 1966. This is a huge compliment. Don't take it lightly. Great job!
My High School used to play Hells Bells before every Friday night football game. Once you heard the bells toll, we were about to take the field and the nostalgia will always give me goosebumps and a smile on my face. All thanks to Back in Black.
Yep... So happy you knew Bon said if I died Brian is your guy!
Not many people know that, but isn't it just surreal that they got him!
I’d love to have seen a jam session between Malcolm and Eddie VH…two of the most - if not the most - influential guitarists of our time.
I guarantee eating and sleeping would have not even been a thought for days.
I was 8 in 1980. I remember riding bikes to the school playground on a Saturday with some friends. There were two teenage boys arguing, about to fight. They started scuffling, grabbing shirts. Then one of the boys said, “Careful, bruh. This is an AC/DC shirt.” The other boy said, “Oh. Sorry, bruh.” End of fight.
Looking back, considering a band that has lasted 40 years + after his passing, that Bon's unmistakable output with the band was really only a 5 year meteoric run. It makes one wonder, if he had gotten clean, what Back in Black would have sounded like with his influence and maybe 1 or 2 more albums. Eventually he probably would have had to step down due to age & wrecking even his raw voice, and Brian Johnson nailed Back in Black, but before that, BON was the face & unique sound of AC/DC. No disrespect the band was tight & grew, but even plug in Daltry or Plant or Ozzy & it wouldn't have been AC/DC. It's legendary that they survived his sudden death, & lasted. A tribute to Brian's talents & individuality. But, they became a different band. More seasoned & skilled arguably, but not the same "electricity", excuse the pun. PS the could have used backing track vocals & hired Pee Wee Herman and it would have been better than Axle Grease.
As a stage hand who has been out of work for over a year and now back to work this song has special meaning to me
I was a freshman in college, still upset over Bon's death. It was a sad and elated reaction to the release of the Album and I still have the original vinyl.
I was a Private in the US Army in Germany from 1980 - 1982. This is where i learned of ACDC and fell in love with them. And now every time I hear them I can not think of my friend Australia from down under Jarrad
Managed to finally cross an item off my bucket list. Fortunately I have a sis/bro in law living in Melbourne and during the last visit with my wife (just as Covid struck) but I did the pilgrimage to Swanson Street , where the band recorded “it’s a long way to the top”, although there has been massive changes in the buildings since then. The Aussie’s took Covid very seriously, so our proposed three week stay turned into three months.
The streets of Melbourne were almost completely empty which made the photos that much more powerful and whilst I’m doing this I was listening to all the AC/DC music I had on my iPod classic (I’m old -get over it). There are plenty of alleys with plaques relating to Bonn Scott and the band but I wasn’t well enough to find them all. All in all it was a dream come true and whilst Covid screwed up our chances to travel around the country I’d go again in a heartbeat, but travel insurance is a bit of a problem (they’re not keen on terminal cancer patients - who’d have thought ?). Told my wife that if I fell off my perch out there that she should leave me in the outback - give the dingoes a bite to eat!
If you ever get the chance I’d highly recommend it, but don’t stay in the major cities such as Melbourne, Sydney etc as they’re very expensive (unless you have in-laws, of course).
🤟AC⚡️DC 🤟
Fun fact:
Although I was more into pop music in the mid-seventies, I distinctly recall the kids at my school in Melbourne (where the film was taken) replacing the lyric "Long Way...etc." with "It's a long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll..."
Memories! Thanks for sharing that.
@@ProfessorofRock, thank YOU for your dedication to great music, Adam!
Incidentally, please read my comment to you in the Guns 'n' Roses video regarding the band Australian Crawl.
@@TheWorldTeacher That's a nice alternative lyric, although during my later school years it was the chippy that was furthest away. The sausage rolls were fairly close and plentiful.
I was in year 10 when me and a mate wagged school and spent the day hanging out in a small place called Amphitheatre. We walked to the local dump and found a bike, a milk crate to put on the back, two electric drills and a cassette, Back In Black ACDC. It had no cover on it. My mate wanted the bike and Drills so I got the tape. We were pretty broke growing up and this tape was one of the first I owned that had music on it that wasn't dubbed tunes off the radio! It was my first introduction to rock and roll and I loved it. Finally got to see them live in Melbourne years later on their Thunderstuck tour.
Great Memories!
1987 my dad won across dc tickets at his work he knew I was into ozzy metallica so as a treat for good grads at the age of 14 I went to my first concert. And fell in love with acdc it was the first song I played when I got my driver's license.
I probably been been hearing all sorts of classic rock since my time in the womb.
So hard to say when I first truely heard Back In Black.
My good memories were listening to this band with my Uncle, my Son, my Mom, pretty much anyone who would rock out with me.
When my son was about three he took to liking hearing AC DC and I ended up burning copies of all the AC DC that we had on hand for him.
When he was five I had to redo the copies and make his mom her own copies because she put them on often enough for him that she started to like them.
I was lucky enough to see AC DC in concert when they first returned to Fresno, CA after they were booed off stage all those years ago. Great birthday gift!
My back in Black story : I have a bro' who is ten years older, so when i was 8, he was 18 and already got his car. I remember in 1982, and he proposed to my mum to catch me when school will be finished that day. At 5 pm, i was out of school, passed the portal, with my friends, and my brother's car (a dark red wine color Renault 5) arrived in front of the gate, with opened windows, and there was music blasting out loud. I headed to the car and jumped in, all my friends looked at me with some disbelief in their eyes. I felt so cool and so lucky this day. The song playing was "Shake a leg", and still is one of my fav' from Back in Black.
What folks don't get is that Bon Scott WAS AC/DC. He broadcast danger and tough. Bon could not be replaced or copied. Brian Johnson was a great choice. Gravitas and chutzpah.
As a kid, I had a babysitter who blasted "Highway to Hell" upon its release. That "Back in Black" became such a timeless huge seller is beyond comprehension.
Angus Young WAS Acca Dacca.
Thanks for sharing that memory. Very cool.
Back in Black knocks your socks off every time! I use it to demo sound systems to customers at the powersports shop I work at. ALWAYS puts a smile on their face
Mid 1980's - I grabbed my rack speakers, wedged them on the floorboard of the rear seat of my '69 Mustang, and went cruising with my cassette of Back in Black cranked to 11! The first time I listened to the album, I loved each and every song.
back in black was my intro to AC/DC as well. i was about 10 (it was the early 90s) and i was riding in my uncles truck when he put the tape in the tape deck and i was instantly hooked. i had really only listened to country up to that point, but something spoke to my soul. He listened to them to warm up during track meets, and it is something i continued myself through middle and high school, in addition to having this blasting during my jr and sr year ag classes (cause i had a cool teacher)
ive been a huge fan for almost 3 decades now, having just turned 38, and to this day i still get chills when i hear the bells from hells bells, and i instantly start smiling when i hear that imfamous opening rift
my 5 year old grandson loves them everytime he comes over straight onto youtube plays acdc dancing around like angus...even doing a preschool concert of acdc onTuesday
I was visiting my sister for a week during summer vacation and my friend came along with me. We got a hold of an 8-track of Back In Black and sat in my sister’s Plymouth Duster and wore the battery down a couple of times.
My older brother bought the Back in Black album. I was in 4th grade. I rode the bus to school. I had gotten a "Slim" Panasonic table-top cassette tape player for Christmas. I recorded my favorite songs on tape and cranked them up on the bus, competing with 1-2 other tape-player passengers. It was war, DJ style. I think I would also play Blondie, "Call Me" or "Rapture"; Pat Benatar, "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" and "Hell Is for Children"; Bruce Springsteen, "Hungry Heart"; Pink Floyd, "Another Brick in the Wall"; Alan Parsons Project, "Games People Play"; REO Speedwagon, "Keep on Lovin' You"; and I think Styx, "Borrowed Time," to name what I can recall. I was only like 9 years old, but I was sneaky enough to drop the needle on my brothers' records and record it all on my dad's stereo.
I always seem to surprise myself on what I remember when I leave comments like this, when I focus on it. If you, friend, are reading this, I do appreciate it, and hope you relate. Why not, for the heck of, why not lemme know if you relate to my comment? That'd be so cool. And thank you, Adam, for this video. I hope you read this, too.
My mom worked two jobs to meet the bills so I was in a child care center after school. Some kid brought the black album and played it, and a great deal of us loved it before it was taken away.
Many many years later while with the 82nd ARBN crossing the desert during the first Gulf War, we blared it as protected the left flank during our push northwards. It was a pretty surreal adventure.
Brian Johnson had a catalog of songs he wrote before he joined ACDC. They're ok, but nothing special. And then he joins ACDC and writes the lyrics to one of the greatest albums of all time. I don't buy it. And then not long after Back in Black, Angus and Malcolm took over much of the lyric writing because Brian was never a talented writer. Bon was the gifted lyricist. Those are largely his words on the Back in Black album.
In 1998 Elissa Blake of Australian Rolling Stone asked Angus: ”Have you ever thought about quitting?"
Angus answered: ”The only time when Bon died. We were in doubt about what to do but we had songs that Bon had written and wanted to finish the songs. We thought it would be our tribute to Bon and the album became Back in Black.
But lyrics are nothing like bon would write and what he writen before there is 0 bon fell on them i belive some lyrics was written by angus and malcom but tributed to brian cuz he was new guy and needed to built image in band.
Must´ve been around 82-83, when I heard BIB for the 1st time. Used to share the same room with my big brother, and he used to play it all the time. I was a big Van Halen´s "1984" album fan later, I remember. 12 years old, or something. My brother went to see AC/DC, Van Halen, and Mötley Crue in Stockholm´s "Monsters of Rock". Came back with stories how fantastic it was. Especially AC/DC. He told me about the crazy gtr player who was running around the stage, showing his ass to the audience, and everything. The singer banged a church bell with a hammer and stuff. The band ended the concert with cannons. I was hooked! BIB and the band became my passion. Bought a guitar from a friend of mine, and learned how to play it by listening to AC/DC.
When my grandson was 10, we were riding around in my truck and he asked me “Papaw, will you help me with my report on the greatest rock band of all time?” I said sure baby, who is that? He turned his head and looked at me like I was some idiot and said “AC/DC, of course, who else is there.”
That brought a tear to my eye. Oh sweet memories.
my 77 year old mom, 52 year old sister and I still rock out to Back in Black when I pick them up for the road trip to my aunt's every summer. to me Back and Black will always be a family thing, and I think Bon would like that his tribute album is thought of that way.
Back in Black was my first AC/DC album. But not the first time I had fallen in love with the band. My twin sister and I would crank it UP!! My mama would yell “turn down that screaming guitar!” We would turn it down and slowly turn it back to blasting. I love the album and the memories.
Christmas, 1984. I was 13, about to turn 14, and just then beginning to get into rock. I came from BFE, La, and country music was the popular genre. I'd never been exposed to rock, other than the lite rock my sister listened to.
So that year on Christmas day, my future brother in law gave me a box with a bunch of his old cassettes in it. It was mostly junk, but had this one album, Black In Black, that intrigued me.
I had also gotten a cassette walkman on that day. We had about an hours ride to Baton Rouge to go to my aunt's house for Christmas festivities, and as soon as I got in the car I put Black In Black into the Walkman, pressed 'PLAY', and my life has never been the same. It was earth shattering for me. A level of intensity and complete rapture I'd never experienced before. I was hooked from that point forward.
BiB is the epitome of AC/DC, with Malcolm's driving heartbeat rhythm, Agus's driving lead, and Brian bringing Bon's soul onto the center stage.
Loved it gen, love it now. Hope to love it for years to come .
So fortunate to have experienced these guys for more almost 50 years.
Rock and Roll.
(and Disco still sux. )
1973, I got married & moved to Cincinnati from Canton ohio. I was so depressed over music. Very little to listen to. Disco & country was it. Especially in Cincinnati with Kentucky just over the border. I was so used to going to concerts on Cleveland & seeing any band that was worth seeing. Finally after 3 long years we moved back home from school. & life exploded with music once again. I've never missed an ACDC concert, both with Bon or Brian. ACDC has always been in heavy rotation here & to this day.
I was a long haired 18 year old guitar player in the Northern Suburbs of South Australia when Back in Black came out. Everyone bought that album.
First heard this in 1983 whilst training to be a soldier age 17 and a half. One of the guys played ACDC all the time in the room we all occupied. Been listening to them ever since. 55 now. It's also great when you need to keep awake when driving at night. That's my experience any ways. 👍
Late 70s early 1980s, the young people of East Phoenix suburbs cruised Main St in Mesa, AZ. It's not typical cruising like the movie American Graffiti. Main St. in Mesa, AZ had parking along the sides where we'd park, flirt, visit, and find out which area high school kids were, hosting a party that weekend. The buildings that lined Main St echoed what the DJ was playing through everyone's car stereos. I remember one time, my friend and I parked our ugly 74 Ford Pinto around one of the corners, as we walked out to the main street we were invited to ride around in the back of some random guy's jeep. When Black In Black's intro started echoing between the cars and buildings, it was a hot summer night memory I'll never forget.
It was Halloween and I was 9 years old. My dad came home from work and he had bought a new stereo. Once he set it up, he said there was only one album to properly test it. I can still remember as "Hells Bells" rang through the house and my dad just laughing, delighted in himself. I was hooked. I always test sound equipment with "Hells Bells" to this day. It's the only way.
I might have been in 81-82 but I was around 11-12 and our neighbors son from across the street was the coolest teenager in the cul de sac, and I was always trying to hang around him while he and his dad were fixing up the old mustang they had the son was always playing ac/dc, it was my first taste of forbidden fruit, music so rocking and so cool. As soon as I could I tried to get the album back in black, it wasn't the original singer but he was almost as good and I was in heaven, until my mom took my record player from me for playing it too loud. Headphones were my next purchase. I want to thank Tommy, the coolest kid on the block, who was so nice to me and let me hang around, and letting me hear all the cool music he had.
When I was a kid, my parents were also convinced that ac/dc was devil music. The first time I heard the record, I was at friends house and he had the album. I remember plugging in the headphones, and getting instantly blown away. I’ve since bought, collected and curated everything that exists from AC/DC. My t-shirt collection consists of primarily all AC/DC shirts.