AC/DC

AC/DC, The Thunder From Down Under, has experienced its share of turmoil but has rebounded from it back to rock and roll greatness. The band has had a change in lead vocalists but has still kept its hardcore style of rock. You can't stop this band.

The core of this band, like Van Halen, is two brothers: Angus and Malcolm Young. Angus plays lead guitar, while Malcolm plays rhythm guitar. They started playing in 1973 at a night club in Sydney under the band name AC/DC. The name stuck, and in 1974 vocalist Bon Scott, bassist Mark Evans, and drummer Phil Rudd joined the group. Throughout the '70's, the group was constantly recording albums and touring the world. They originally released their first few albums, such as Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Powerage in Australia alone, but they were able to sign with Atlantic Records so that their work could be published in America. Their breakthrough album in America was Highway to Hell, released in 1979 and peaking at #17 on the charts. This success was to be short-lived, as Bon Scott died after a drinking binge that same year.

Most people thought that Bon Scott's death was the death blow to AC/DC. Those who thought that were WRONG, because his death was actually a catalyst for one of the most influential rock albums in history: Back in Black. The album has sold 19 million copies in the U.S. and 41 million worldwide. Brian Johnson replaced Bon Scott on vocals, and his voice has carried the new AC/DC into its next era. Back to the album (no pun intended), it produced their band staples "Hell's Bells", "Back in Black", and "You Shook Me All Night Long", the first AC/DC song to break the U.S. Top Forty.

AC/DC continued to gain might in the U.S., earning its first #1 album with For Those About to Rock (We Salute You).  Their next albums continued to produce more hits, such as The Razor's Edge producing "Thunderstruck", which was based on a real life event in which the plane Angus was flying on was hit by lightning and nearly crashed.In the 2000s, they continued to soar. Black Ice was a good album. They were hired to do the "Iron Man 2" soundtrack. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. If anyone were to say that AC/DC is dead, then that person better get his head screwed on right, because AC/DC is far from dead.