Song · AC/DC
“It's a Long Way To The Top (If You Want to Rock & Roll)” by AC/DC
“It's a Long Way To The Top (If You Want to Rock & Roll)” by AC/DC appears on 52 radio countdowns from 24 stations between 1990 and 2026. Its best result is #44 on the WMGK Philly 500 (2026). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #407 classic rock song of all time.
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AC/DC opened T.N.T., their second album, with "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" when that record came out in Australia and New Zealand in December 1975. Everyone else caught up in April 1976, when it led off the international release of High Voltage. Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott wrote it together.
The whole thing turns on one audacious idea: bagpipes, wheeled into a hard rock band's arsenal as if they'd always belonged there. Midway through, the pipes and the guitar start trading phrases in a call-and-response that still sounds wonderfully deranged. After Scott's death the band retired it from the stage out of respect for him. Triple M's Ozzest 100 ranked it number 5 in 2018 on its count of the most Australian songs ever.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
Also listed as: It's a Long Way to the Top; It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock 'N' Roll); It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock and Roll); It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock & Roll); It's A Long Way To The Top ...; It's A Long Way To The Top.
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