AC/DC, The #73 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Two

 

Bon Scott died February 19, 1980 after doing something AC/DC members did often, drinking heavily.  The group thought about quitting, but listened to Scott's parents, who said he would want them to go on.  After conducting a search for Scott's replacement, AC/DC decided on Brian Johnson, someone that Scott had once commented favorably on, and they tried to pick themselves back up collectively as a band.

 AC/DC not only carried on, but Johnson led them to new heights.  The first album recorded with him was one of the most monumental releases in the Rock Era.  The group released Back in Black later in the year.  The single "You Shook Me All Night Long" peaked at #35, the biggest U.S. hit the group would ever have. 

Back in Black went to #1 in the U.K. and #4 in the United States.  "Hell's Bells" received airplay on Album stations.

 Although "You Shook Me All Night Long" was the band's biggest hit, the best song on the album arguably is the title song.

 

Back in Black has now sold an estimated 50 million units worldwide.  In the United States, it has been certified as having sold 22 million copies, making it the sixth-biggest-seller of all-time.

This amazing album is loaded with Top Tracks*, such as "Shoot To Thrill".  It was later featured in the movie Iron Man 2.

 

Another of the songs which got considerable airplay is "Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution".

 

After the amazing success of Back in Black, Atlantic Records, which was disinterested in releasing Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap in 1976, reissued it in 1979.  On the strength of the release of the title song as a single, the album rocketed to #3.  "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" jumped to #4 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

 

Lange also produced the 1981 album For Those About to Rock We Salute You.  The single "Let's Get It Up" rose to #9 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

 

The album gave AC/DC their first #1 in the U.S. and sales now top four million.  "For Those About To Rock" climbed to #4 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

The group was so popular during this time that they were nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Band at the American Music Awards.

Internal problems began to surface, however, and Rudd was fired from the group.  After 700 drummers auditioned to take his place, the group hired Simon Wright.

In 1983, AC/DC released the album Flick of the Switch, which they produced themselves.  The result was an inferior product, and the group's 1985 album, Fly on the Wall, did not do much better.  

The following year, the group released the album Who Made Who, which served as the soundtrack to the movie Maximum Overdrive.  It contained previous AC/DC songs such as "You Shook Me All Night Long" with newer songs mixed in.  Who Made Who has now topped five million in sales.

 

The group also released the EP '74 Jailbreak.  It was the first time that "Jailbreak", originally included on the group's Australian version of the Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap album, was released in North America.

The group's 1988 album, Blow Up Your Video, was an improvement, although it too paled to previous releases.  But Malcolm Young skipped the North American tour dates to deal with his own problem of alcoholism, replaced by nephew Stevie Young.  Wright then left the group in favor of Dio, with veteran session musician Chris Slade taking his place.

 AC/DC made a comeback with their next album, thanks to producer Bruce Fairbairn, who had credits with Aerosmith and Bon Jovi.  They released the album The Razors Edge in 1990.  The great song "Thunderstruck" became the band's biggest worldwide career hit, going to #3 in New Zealand and the Netherlands, #4 in the U.K. and #5 on the Mainstream Rock chart in the U.S., though it didn't make the Popular chart. It is one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era.

"Thunderstruck" was nominated for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.  With sales of five million copies in the U.S. alone, The Razors Edge proved to be the best album the group had recorded since Back in Black, and the best they have done since.  

While "Moneytalks" cannot boast the worldwide success of its predecessor, it landed at #23, the highest peak position ever for an AC/DC single in the United States.  On the Mainstream Rock chart, it attained #3.

The band was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards for their work on the album in 1991, and "Moneytalks" was separately nominated for the same award in 1992.  For the first time in years, AC/DC was back in the Top 10 of the Album chart.  The Razors Edge peaked at #2 in the U.S. and in the Top 10 in every major country in the world except Austria, where it was #11.  Their subsequent tour was recorded and highlights released as the 1992 album Live.

The band headlined the Monsters of Rock Festival, but tragedy struck when three fans were crushed when the crowd rushed the stage in Salt Lake City, Utah.  

In 1992, AC/DC recorded "Big Gun" for the movie Last Action Hero--the song went to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart in the U.S and #3 in New Zealand and #5 in Switzerland.

The band released the album AC/DC Live.  With sales of over three million in the United States alone, it is one of the top live albums in history.  The group's performance of "Highway To Hell" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards.

In 1994, Rudd reunited with the group and replaced Slade, with the album Ballbreaker the result in 1995.  The single "Hard As A Rock" jumped to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.  

Ballbreaker has now sold over two million copies.  In 1997, AC/DC released the box set Bonfire, a mixture of a remastered Back in Black, alternate takes and outtakes and two live albums.  Bonfire has sold over one million units.

The group returned in 2000 with another solid effort, Stiff Upper Lip, which was produced by brother George Young.  The album reached #1 in five countries including Germany and peaked at #7 in the United States, selling over one million copies.  The title song hit #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart for four weeks.

In March, Leganés, Spain named a street in honor of the group, named Calle de AC/DC.  Angus and Malcom were on hand for the ceremony. 

AC/DC signed a major long-term contract with Sony, which released several remastered albums by the group.  

In 2003, AC/DC was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Also that year, they performed with the Rolling Stones and Rush at Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto before an audience of half a million fans to set a record for the largest paid music event in North American history.

In 2004, Melbourne, Australia renamed Corporation Lane as ACDC Lane.

During this period, AC/DC also released several live albums, including Plug Me In, Live at Donington and No Bull:  The Directors Cut.

In 2008, the band released the album Black Ice, their first album of new material in eight years.  The title song gave the group another #1 Mainstream Rock hit.

The highly anticipated album debuted at #1 in 29 countries.  AC/DC supported the album with an 18-month world tour in which they played before five million people in 28 countries and helped the album go Double Platinum.  "Rock N' Roll Train" was nominated for Best Rock Performance by A Duo or Group with Vocal at the Grammy Awards.

AC/DC captured their first and only Grammy Award in 2010 when "War Machine" was named Best Hard Rock Performance.  Black Ice was also nominated for Best Rock Album.

In 2010, AC/DC recorded the soundtrack for the movie Iron Man 2.  It reached the Top 10 in nearly every country in the world and has been certified Gold. 

In 2014, however, Malcolm became seriously ill.  He was replaced in the studio by Stevie for a new album but eventually left the band.  AC/DC released the album Rock or Bust and began a world tour.  Sales of the album (500,000) are the lowest since T.N.T. in 1975.

In November, Rudd was charged with threatening to kill a former assistant and possession of drugs.  He pleaded guilty five months later and was replaced on drums with Slade.

In March of 2016, Johnson's doctors ordered him to cease touring due to hearing loss.  The other members recruited Axl Rose, formerly with Guns N' Roses, to sing vocals for the remainder of the tour. 

In July, Williams retired and in September, AC/DC announced that Rose had been hired full-time.  After the completion of the tour, Angus and Rose announced that they would continue the band with different musicians.

AC/DC has sold over 71.5 million albums in the United States and over 200 million worldwide.  The group is now the fifth-best-selling band in U.S. history and #10 among all artists.

They have won one Grammy Award out of seven nominations and have also been nominated for an American Music Award and an MTV Video Music Award.