AC/DC, an Australian band that formed in 1973 and toured mostly Australia and the UK, had their first major hit with High Voltage in 1975. A year later, Dirty Deeds is rejected by the U.S. version of their label (oops!), but a tour that followed made them a worldwide name.

Fast forward to 1980, when lead singer Bon Scott drinks himself to death, and Brian Johnson replaces him. What followed is rock n’ roll history.

There were already some great AC/DC albums (Jail Break ‘74, Highway to Hell), but none is more familiar than the post-Bon Scott era debut, Back in Black. In fact, I think if you went to high school between 1980-1985, you were required to own this album. AC/DC’s ninth album was an indisputable rocker. They played Market Square Arena on this tour (September of 1980), and I think it was the first time I bought a concert t-shirt.

Starting off with “Hells Bells,” this dark and moody album has some great “love" songs: “Giving The Dog A Bone,” “Let Me Put My Love Into You” and “What Do You Do For Money Honey.” But it also rocks us with “Shoot To Thrill,” “Shake A Leg” and “Back in Black.” The most familiar track may be “You Shook Me All Night Long,” which could be in my top 10 of the all-time greatest rock songs.

A No. 1 record in Great Britain, it spent almost a year on the charts, and in the U.S. it reached No. 4 and spent over two and a half years on the charts, selling over 10 million copies. Not quite heavy metal, I would set this in the “hard rock” category, and would rank this album next to anything that has been released since.

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