The 500 - #200 - Highway To Hell - AC/DC

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #200
Album Title: Highway To Hell
Artist: AC/DC

Genre: Hard Rock, Blues Rock
Recorded: Roadhouse Studios, Chalk Farm, London, U.K.

Released: July, 1979
My age at release: 14
How familiar was I with it before this week: Quite

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: If You Want Blood

Album cover for Highway To Hell, AC/DC (1979)

AC/DC, the hard rock band from Australia, have two records on The 500 list. Highway To Hell, their sixth studio record, was released on July 27, 1979, and became their breakthrough album in the U.K. and America. It featured singer Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott, who had been with the group since their debut release, High Voltage, in 1975. It was also the first record to be produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange who was well on his way to becoming one of the greatest recording architects of all time...and future husband of Canadian singing legend Shania Twain.

AC/DC singer Bon Scott 

The second release by AC/DC on The 500 is Back In Black (#77) which was released almost one year later (364 days to be exact) on July 25, 1980. It became their biggest selling record of all time, with more than 50 million units sold. It was also produced by Mutt Lange. However, it featured vocals from English singer Brian Johnson who joined the band in February, 1980, following the death of Scott.

Brian Johnson, 1980, shortly after taking over singing duties for AC/DC.

Scott, who had been drinking into the late evening at a club in London, England, called The Music Machine, had decided to sleep in a car owned by his friend, Alistair Kinnear. The following morning, Tuesday, February 19, Kinnear found him unresponsive. Authorities were alerted and Scott was rushed to the nearby King's College Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The coroner’s report concluded it was "a death by misadventure". It seems likely that a combination of alcohol, heroin and the cold weather led to pulmonary aspiration. Scott likely experienced an overdose, lapsed into unconsciousness and aspirated (choked) on his own vomit.

Statue of Bon Scott in Freemantle region of Perth, Australia. It is one of
two statues of the singer, the other in his birthplace, Northmuir, Scotland

Scott's death brought the AC/DC into my pop cultural orbit. As a 14-year-old high school freshman, I was keenly tuned to the conversations of senior students, particularly about music. Hard rock was king in my rural high-school and my classes were filled with long-haired, denim- and black leather-clad fans of KISS, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Queen and Black Sabbath. My first introduction to some of these bands came from seeing their logos scrawled on student binders and notebooks.

Band logos of several bands popular in the late 70s.

In the spring of 1980, the words "Long Live Bon Scott" or "R.I.P. Bon Scott" were frequently sketched on those same school books. I also started to see patches and pins memorializing the singer on classmates’ jackets. The tragedy also elevated the popularity of their most recent record, Highway To Hell, and AC/DC songs were featured more heavily on Detroit rock radio.

Bon Scott gravestone in Fremantle City, Australia.

During the summer of 1980, I moved to London, Ontario, and was delighted to be living in a larger metropolitan area that featured a transit system, multiple libraries, public swimming pools, arenas and community centres. However, more importantly, rock bands included London (The Forest City) on their tour schedules. Within a few weeks of my arrival, I learned that California rockers Van Halen would be playing the London Gardens. I wrote about this in a July, 2020 post, in context of their debut record (#415 on The 500).

A Van Halen "Invasion" shirt from the tour, identical to
one I owned and wore proudly for years after the London show.

Eight days following the Van Halen show, the sound of amplified guitars still ringing in my ears, AC/DC brought their high-octane rock show to the London Gardens venue. The event came on the same day their seventh album, Back In Black, was released and was the 14th show with new lead singer, Johnson. The tickets were only $8 and I considered going. However, I skipped it because, as ridiculous as it seems in retrospect, I felt my "tastes" had matured beyond the simplistic rock and roll of AC/DC.  

At 15, I was becoming enamoured with progressive rock bands, including Rush, Genesis and Yes. Foolishly, I felt that a band needed virtuoso players who tackled epic, lengthy songs with complex key and changing time signatures in order to be considered "worthy". Van Halen had "cut the mustard" at that time because the lead guitarist, Edward Van Halen, was considered a guitar prodigy. His brother, Alex, was no slouch on the drum kit either. I liked AC/DC, but had mentally relegated them to basement party stereo status.

A Back In Black concert shirt from the 1980 tour.

Years later, I became a much bigger fan of AC/DC and began to understand how well the group composed the memorable, catchy anthemic rock songs that dominate their 18 studio records (1975-2020). Sure, their songs are usually written in standard 4/4 time and built around a handful of common chords, but, there is something masterful about how they execute their playing. They’re wizards when it comes to incredible, catchy rock riffs around which their songs were structured. However, not unlike jazz, it's not just the riffs they play, it's the patience with which they are delivered and how the rhythm section (guitar, drums and bass) support the rest of the song.

AC/DC in 1979 - (l-r) Malcom Young (rhythm guitar), Bon Scott (vocals),
Cliff Williams (bass), Angus Young (lead guitar) and Phil Rudd (drums).

A friend of mine, former guest blogger Glen "Archie" Gamble, spent months touring with an AC/DC tribute act dubbed Who Made Who as their drummer.  He was tasked with replicating Phil Rudd's sound and style, and told me he was rehearsing diligently for a series of shows across Canada. I was struck when he said: "I have to go back and re-examine the songs, relearning them to get the proper feel."

Promotional poster for the AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who.

I'm glad that I have a better appreciation of the deceptive complexity of this fantastic rock band. However, I deeply regret my decision not to attend that July, 1980, concert....for $8, no less.

Long Live Bon Scott!