AC/DC

AC/DC came roaring out of Sydney in 1973, the work of 2 brothers, Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar and Angus Young on lead. The early lineup was a revolving door, with singer Dave Evans, drummer Colin Burgess and bassist Larry Van Kriedt among those who came and went, but once Bon Scott took over lead vocals the band had its voice. The band themselves never bothered with labels like hard rock or heavy metal; to them it was simply rock and roll.

High Voltage and T.N.T. in 1975, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap in 1976 and Let There Be Rock in 1977 built the formula and never saw a reason to change it: stripped-down blues riffs, a rock-solid beat and a whole lot of volume. By then Phil Rudd was on drums and Cliff Williams on bass, and "Whole Lotta Rosie" was the riotous, galloping highlight of Let There Be Rock. Powerage kept up the pace, and Highway to Hell in 1979 was their tightest, meanest record yet.

Seven months later Scott was dead of alcohol poisoning. Instead of calling it quits, the band hired an English singer, Brian Johnson, whose throat sounded like it had been scraped with sandpaper, and in 1980 they made Back in Black, which became one of the best-selling albums ever made. "Hells Bells" tolls in slow and heavy, the title track struts, "Shoot to Thrill" goes off like a flare, and "You Shook Me All Night Long" is a rollicking good time. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) followed.

Rudd was sacked in 1983, and Simon Wright and then Chris Slade took over behind the kit. The Razors Edge in 1990 put them back on top, with "Thunderstruck" and its mesmerizing, rattling guitar lick alongside "Money Talks". The bands of the new wave of British heavy metal counted them as a formative influence, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted them in 2003. Malcolm retired in 2014, and the band rolled on anyway.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.