AC\DC Biography

1976 was a fine year for the rock world. At one end of the planetary axis the Ramones made their debut, and at the metallic pole AC/DC unleashed their first album, High Voltage. But unlike the Ramones, these gnarly Aussies--Young brothers Angus and Malcolm, bassist Mark Evans, drummer Phil Rudd and singer Brian Johnson (who replaced original frontman Bon Scott when he died in 1980)--have never won critical respect. Working with a similarly limited palette of chords, AC/DC tapped into the same primal rock vein as the Ramones, but whipped their take on the trusty old I-IV-V into a much raunchier rhythmic pitch and imbued it with an irrepressibly (often hilariously) libidinous outlook. The music is raw, monomaniacal and full of essential rock spunk.

AC/DC's prodigious discography (they've recorded some 15 albums in 21 years) has its high points and its fair-to-middling moments, but by and large the disparity isn't that big. Even their weakest albums are energetically executed and usually pack at least one memorable song. The exception to that rule is Back In Black, an absolutely pristine slab of rock 'n' roll no matter how you slice it. The songwriting is as acute as the playing, the production keeps it all in line without damping the sizzle, and for a band whose stock-in-trade is yer basic down 'n' dirty bump-and-grind, the material is amazingly diverse--ranging from the saucy anthemic thrash of the title track to the most "sensitive" song AC/DC has ever recorded, "You Shook Me All Night Long," an oddly moving combination of luggish double entendre and poignant melodicism.


Over the years AC/DC's albums have continued to sell consistently and the band remains a solid concert draw. The '90s were particularly kind to the band--its two decade efforts, 1990's The Razor's Edge and 1995's Ballbreaker, hit No. 2 and No. 4, respectively on the Billboard 200. Additionally, a boxed set, Bonfire, was released in 1997; the set featured five discs of live and rare tracks, including a special edition of Back In Black. The band is continuing to shake into the Millennium and shows no sign of stopping: In February of 2000, AC/DC released Stiff Upper Lip, which was well-received by rock radio and fans alike.