Highway to Hell

Highway to Hell
Studio album by AC/DC
Released	27 July 1979
Recorded	February–April 1979 at Roundhouse Studios, London, England
Genre	Hard rock, blues-rock[1]heavy metal[2]
Length	41:42
Label	Albert Atlantic
Producer	Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Blender link Rolling Stone Album Guide link
AC/DC chronology
Powerage (1978) Highway to Hell (1979) Back in Black (1980)
Alternate cover
Australian cover

Highway to Hell is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in July 1979. It is also AC/DC's fifth international studio album. It was the last album featuring Bon Scott, who died early the following year from over-consumption of alcohol.

It was originally released 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 May 25 2006, Highway to Hell was certified 7x platinum by the RIAA.^[3] In 2003, the album was ranked number 199 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[4]

Overview

Highway to Hell is the last AC/DC album recorded with lead vocalist Bon Scott before his death on February 19, 1980. The album featured such songs as "Highway to Hell", "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" and "Shot Down in Flames" which has now become a regular song in their setlist during their live shows.

Highway to Hell became AC/DC's first album to break the U.S. top 100, eventually reaching #17, and it propelled AC/DC into the top ranks of hard rock acts. With Highway to Hell reaching #17 in the U.S. market this would be the first solid success that AC/DC would achieve in the U.S.

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 (a visiting extraterrestrial played by Robin Williams). The phrase would end the song "Night Prowler" and also close 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 and biggest sellers, 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 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.

Controversy

In June 1985, a highly publicized 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 on AC/DC, whose concerts and albums faced protests by parents in the Los Angeles area.^[5] 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.

Track listing

1. "Highway to Hell" – 3:28
2. "Girls Got Rhythm" – 3:23
3. "Walk All Over You" – 5:10
4. "Touch Too Much" – 4:27
5. "Beating Around the Bush" – 3:56
6. "Shot Down in Flames" – 3:22
7. "Get It Hot" – 2:34
8. "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" – 4:37
9. "Love Hungry Man" – 4:17
10. "Night Prowler" – 6:27

All titles written 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, backing vocals
• Phil Rudd – drums

Production

• Producer: Robert John "Mutt" Lange
• Recording Studio: Roundhouse Studios, London, England
• Recording Engineer: Mark Dearney
• Mixing Studio: Basing Street Studios, London, England
• Mixing Engineer: Tony Platt
• Assistant Engineer: Kevin Dallimore
• Art Direction: Bob Defrin
• Photography: Jim Houghton

Chart positions

Album

Singles

Certification

References

External links

• Lyrics on AC/DC's official website
• Highway to Hell at MusicBrainz