Highway to Hell is an album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was the band's fifth
internationally released studio album and the sixth to be released in Australia. It
was the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who died early the following year from
over-consumption of alcohol. It was originally released on 27 July 1979
by Albert Productions, who licensed the album to Atlantic Records for release outside of
Australia, and was then re-released by Epic Records in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters
series. On 25 May 2006, Highway to Hell was certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA. In 2003,
the album was ranked number 200 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest
albums of all time.
Overview Highway to Hell is the last AC/DC album recorded
with Bon Scott before his death on 19 February 1980. The album featured such songs as "Highway
to Hell", "Touch Too Much", "If You Want Blood", and "Shot Down in Flames" which have become
fan favourites and regular songs in their setlist during their live shows. The album
became AC/DC's first to break the US Top 100, eventually reaching #17, and it propelled
the band into the top ranks of hard rock acts. The final words spoken by Scott on the album
are "Shazbot, na-nu na-nu", phrases used on the then-popular American sitcom, Mork and
Mindy, by lead character Mork. The phrase ended the song "Night Prowler" and closed
the album. Highway to Hell was the first AC/DC album
not produced by Harry Vanda and George Young. Pre-production of the album began in January
1979 with demos cut at Albert Studios in Sydney, Australia, where they met the intended producer,
Eddie Kramer. Kramer was fired before a single track had been completed, and Robert John
"Mutt" Lange was brought in to replace him. The change proved to be fortuitous, and the
album was the band's biggest yet. Lange would go on to produce the band's next two albums,
Back in Black and For Those About to Rock We Salute You. The album was recorded during
sessions in February 1979 at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, and March–April 1979
at Roundhouse Studios in London, England. In Australia, Highway to Hell was released
with a slightly different album cover, featuring flames and a drawing of a bass guitar neck
superimposed over the same group photo used on the international cover. Also, the AC/DC
logo is a darker shade of maroon, but the accents are a bit lighter. Additionally, the
East German release had different and much plainer designs on the front and back, apparently
because the authorities were not happy with the sleeve as released elsewhere.
Two songs from the album, "Highway to Hell" and "If You Want Blood" are included on the
soundtrack album for Iron Man 2, with the former also being played during the final
scenes of the movie. The song "If You Want Blood" is also featured in five films; Empire
Records, The Longest Yard, Shoot Em Up, Final Destination 5 and finally, The Dukes of Hazzard.
The song "Walk All Over You" is featured in the movie Grown Ups. "Touch Too Much" is featured
on the soundtrack for the video game Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned. In October
2010, Highway to Hell was listed in the top 50 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums with
Back in Black at No. 2. The guitars and bass in this album are tuned down 1/4 step except
for "Night Prowler", "Love Hungry Man" and "Get It Hot" which are tuned down whole half
step or ½ step. A tiny picture of the album cover is also
featured on the front cover of the 1994 album Trashed by punk rock group Lagwagon.
In 2013, AC/DC fan Steevi Diamond spearheaded a Facebook campaign to get the title track
to become a UK Christmas #1 in the UK Singles Chart, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of
AC/DC, and to prevent The X Factor from achieving another #1 hit single Jon Morter, who was
behind the Rage Against the Machine Facebook campaign in 2009, raised proceeds, through
the campaign, to Feel Yourself, a cancer awareness charity. The single peaked at #4 in the Official
UK Charts, scoring AC/DC's first ever UK Top 10 single.
Controversy
In June 1985, a highly publicised murder case began revolving around Richard Ramírez, who
was responsible for several brutal killings in Los Angeles. Nicknamed the "Night Stalker",
Ramírez was a fan of AC/DC, particularly the song "Night Prowler". Police also claimed
that Ramirez was wearing an AC/DC shirt and left an AC/DC hat at one of the crime scenes.
During the trial, Ramírez often muttered "Hail Satan" and showed off the pentagram
carved into his palm. This brought extremely bad publicity to AC/DC, whose concerts and
albums faced protests by parents in Los Angeles. On VH1's Behind the Music on AC/DC, the band
maintained that the song had been given a murderous connotation by Ramírez, but is
actually about a boy sneaking into his girlfriend's bedroom at night while her parents are asleep.
Track listing All songs written and composed by Angus Young,
Malcolm Young and Bon Scott. Published by Edward B. Marks Music Corporation, BMI.
Personnel Bon Scott – lead vocals
Angus Young – lead guitar Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Cliff Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals Phil Rudd – drums
Production Producer: Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Recording Studio: Roundhouse Studios, London, England
Recording Engineer: Mark Dearnley Mixing Studio: Basing Street Studios, London,
England Mixing Engineer: Tony Platt
Assistant Engineer: Kevin Dallimore Art Direction: Bob Defrin
Photography: Jim Houghton Charts and certifications
External links Lyrics on AC/DC's official website
Highway to Hell at MusicBrainz Highway to Hell by Joe Bonomo in the 33 1/3
Series of books References