AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, 1975's High Voltage. Membership subsequently stabilised around the Young brothers, singer Bon Scott, drummer Phil Rudd, and bassist Mark Evans. Evans was fired from the band in 1977 and replaced by Cliff Williams, who has appeared on every AC/DC album since 1978's Powerage. In February 1980, about seven months after the release of their breakthrough album Highway to Hell, Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of heavy drinking. AC/DC considered disbanding, but at Scott's family's request, the remaining members opted to continue the band, bringing in longtime Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson as Scott's replacement. Later that year, the band released their first album with Johnson, Back in Black, which was dedicated to Scott's memory. The album launched AC/DC to new heights of success and became one of the best selling albums of all time.
The band's eighth studio album, For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) (1981), was their first album to reach number one in the United States. Prior to the release of their next album, Flick of the Switch (1983), Rudd left the band and was replaced by Simon Wright, being in turn replaced by Chris Slade in 1989. The band experienced a commercial resurgence in the early nineties with the release of their twelfth studio album The Razors Edge (1990); it was their only album to feature Slade, who was replaced by the returning Rudd in 1994. Rudd has since recorded five more albums with the band, starting with, and including, Ballbreaker (1995). Their fifteenth studio album Black Ice was the second-highest-selling album of 2008, and their biggest chart hit since For Those About to Rock, eventually reaching No.1 worldwide.
The band's line-up remained the same for twenty years, until 2014 with Malcolm Young's retirement due to early-onset dementia (he died in 2017) and Rudd's legal troubles. Malcolm was replaced by his nephew Stevie Young, who debuted on AC/DC's 2014 album Rock or Bust, and on its accompanying tour, previous drummer Chris Slade filled in for Rudd. In 2016, Johnson was advised to stop touring due to worsening hearing loss. Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose stepped in as the band's vocalist for the remainder of that year's dates. Long-term bass player and background vocalist Cliff Williams retired from AC/DC at the end of the Rock or Bust tour in 2016 and the group entered a four-year hiatus. A reunion of the Rock or Bust line-up was announced in September 2020 and the band's seventeenth studio album Power Up was released two months later.
AC/DC have sold more than 200 million records worldwide, including 75 million albums in the United States, making them the ninth-highest-selling artist in the United States and the 16th-best-selling artist worldwide. Back in Black has sold an estimated 50 million units worldwide, making it the second-highest-selling album by any artist, and the highest-selling album by any band. The album has sold 25 million units in the US, where it is the fourth highest-selling album of all time. AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2003. AC/DC ranked fourth on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and were named the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time" by MTV. In 2004, AC/DC ranked No. 72 on the Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Producer Rick Rubin, who wrote an essay on the band for the Rolling Stone list, referred to AC/DC as "the greatest rock and roll band of all time". In 2010, VH1 ranked AC/DC number 23 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC/DC
Discography
High Voltage (1975) (Australia only)
T.N.T. (1975) (Australia only)
High Voltage (1976) (international version)
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)
Let There Be Rock (1977)
Powerage (1978)
Highway to Hell (1979)
Back in Black (1980)
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) (1981)
Flick of the Switch (1983)
Fly on the Wall (1985)
Blow Up Your Video (1988)
The Razors Edge (1990)
Ballbreaker (1995)
Stiff Upper Lip (2000)
Black Ice (2008)
Rock or Bust (2014)
Power Up (2020)
Let There Be Rock
AC/DC Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back in nineteen fifty-five
Man didn't know about a rock 'n' roll show
And all that jive
The white man had the schmaltz
The black man had the blues
No one knew what they was gonna do
But Tchaikovsky had the news
"Let there be sound," there was sound
"Let there be light," there was light
"Let there be drums," there was drums
"Let there be guitar," there was guitar
"Oh, let there be rock"
Woo
And it came to pass
That rock 'n' roll was born
And all across the land, every rockin' band
Was blowing up a storm
And the guitar man got famous
The businessman got rich
And in every bar there was a superstar
With a seven-year itch
There were fifteen-million fingers
Learning how to play
And you could hear the fingers picking
And this is what they had to say
"Let there be light
Sound
Drums
Guitar
Oh, let there be rock"
One night in a club called The Shaking Hand
There was a forty-two decibel rocking band
And the music was good and the music was loud
And the singer turned and he said to the crowd
"Let there be rock"
The lyrics to AC/DC's song "Let There Be Rock" recount the origins of rock and roll, back in 1955 when the genre was still in its infancy. The song begins with a description of the racial divide in the music industry at the time, with white artists playing schmaltzy tunes while black musicians were creating blues music. The lyrics note that no one knew what was going to happen with this new style of music, but then Tchaikovsky, the famous composer, supposedly had "the news" and declared "Let there be sound," which ushered in a new era.
The chorus of the song continues in this vein, with Tchaikovsky's fiat bringing forth all the necessary components of a rock show: sound, light, drums, and guitar. The music builds, and it becomes clear that "rock 'n' roll was born" and quickly spread across the land with a fury. As more and more people learned how to play guitar, bands sprang up in every corner of the country, and the music became ubiquitous. The verse about the businessman and the bar superstar hints at the commercialization of rock music and how it became a lucrative industry.
Finally, the song concludes with a specific reference to a club called The Shaking Hand and a particularly loud and good band playing there. The singer implores the crowd to "let there be rock," thereby reigniting the passion and energy that was present when the genre first emerged.
Overall, "Let There Be Rock" is an homage to the explosive origins of rock and roll and the power it holds to unite and excite people. It's a call to keep the music alive and to remember where it all began.
Line by Line Meaning
In the beginning
At the start of the song
Back in nineteen fifty-five
A reference to the past
Man didn't know about a rock 'n' roll show
People back then were not familiar with rock music
And all that jive
The various associated elements of rock like style, culture and attitude
The white man had the schmaltz
White people had the culture but lacked the rhythm
The black man had the blues
Blacks had the rhythm but lacked the culture
No one knew what they was gonna do
Uncertain about their future prospects
But Tchaikovsky had the news
A renowned musician and composer had the breakthrough idea
"Let there be sound," there was sound
The beginning of rock music
"Let there be light," there was light
The dawn of the rock era
"Let there be drums," there was drums
Drums became an integral element of rock music
"Let there be guitar," there was guitar
Guitar became the key instrument of rock music
"Oh, let there be rock"
A call for the rise of rock music
And it came to pass
The progression of time and the emergence of rock music
That rock 'n' roll was born
The birth of rock music
And all across the land, every rockin' band
The popularity of rock music and its embrace by everyone
Was blowing up a storm
An explosion of creativity and passion
And the guitar man got famous
Guitarists became rock stars
The businessman got rich
The commercial success of rock music
And in every bar there was a superstar
Rock stars were everywhere
With a seven-year itch
A reference to the length of most recording contracts
There were fifteen-million fingers
The many people who learned to play guitar
Learning how to play
The efforts of many to master the guitar
And you could hear the fingers picking
The distinctive sound of the guitar
And this is what they had to say
The guitarists spoke through their music
"Let there be light
A reference to the dawn of rock music
Sound
The emergence of rock music
Drums
Drums as an important element of rock music
Guitar
Guitar as the key instrument of rock music
Oh, let there be rock"
A call for more rock music
One night in a club called The Shaking Hand
A specific event that took place
There was a forty-two decibel rocking band
A loud, energetic rock band
And the music was good and the music was loud
The energy and power of rock music
And the singer turned and he said to the crowd
A moment of climax when the singer addresses the audience
"Let there be rock"
A call for more rock music
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ronald Belford Scott, Angus Mckinnon Young, Malcolm Mitchell Young
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ShirleyCurryTheOlderGamer
Back in the day!!! Bonn!!! Wicked quitar!!!
@jacobholabird1983
Shirley Curry
@jondalardynamite5199
Respect for you from Mexico. Hail hail rock and roll
@OrdoSanctiBenedictus
Shirley Curry purists in hard rock
@luisramonvazquezzamora8741
Shirley Curry
Thoefainre
Thoefainre
Thierry
Renaud
N
@luisramonvazquezzamora8741
Renaud
@bluesman1834
No bullshit. No effects. Just straight up rock n’ roll!! RIP Bon & Malcom!
@itnow
yeah they sort of ignored glam, prog or punk ...sticking to pub rock...
@elizabethness3629
Still get goosebumps 40 ish years on. No one like Ac/DC Respect Love n Peace. THANK YOU THANK YOU xxx
@josejimenomartin373
@@itnowun