AC/DC - HIGHWAY TO HELL

AC/DC

HIGHWAY TO HELL

SONGWRITERS: BON SCOTT; ANGUS YOUNG & MALCOLM YOUNG

COUNTRY: AUSTRALIA

ALBUM: HIGHWAY TO HELL

LABEL: ALBERT-ATLANTIC

GENRE: HARD ROCK

YEAR: 1979

Highway to Hell is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979. It was the band's fifth studio album released internationally and the sixth to be released in Australia. It was the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who died early the following year on 19 February 1980.

By 1978, AC/DC had released five albums internationally and had toured Australia and Europe extensively. In 1977, they landed in America and, with virtually no radio support, began to amass a live following. The band's most recent album, the live If You Want Blood, had reached number 13 in Britain, and the two albums previous to that, 1977's Let There Be Rock and 1978's Powerage, had seen the band find their raging, blues-based hard rock sound. Although the American branch of Atlantic Records had rejected the group's 1976 LP Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, it now believed the band was poised to strike it big in the States if only they would work with a producer who could give them a radio-friendly sound. Since their 1975 Australian debut High Voltage, all of AC/DC's albums had been produced by George Young and Harry Vanda. According to the book AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll, the band was not enthusiastic about the idea, especially guitarists Angus Young and Malcolm Young, who felt a strong sense of loyalty to their older brother George:

Being told what to do was bad enough but what really pissed off Malcolm and Angus was they felt that George was being treated disrespectfully by Atlantic, like an amateur with no great track record when it came to production ... Malcolm seemed less pleased with the situation and went so far as to tell Radio 2JJ in Sydney that the band had been virtually "forced" to go with an outside producer. Losing Harry was one thing. Losing George was almost literally like losing a sixth member of the band, and much more.

Living easy, livin' free

Season ticket, on a one way ride

Asking nothing, leave me be

Taking everything in my stride

Don't need reason, don't need rhyme

Ain't nothin' that I’d rather do

Going down, party time

My friends are gonna be there too

I'm on the highway to hell

On the highway to hell

Highway to hell

I'm on the highway to hell

No stop signs, speed limit

Nobody's gonna slow me down

Like a wheel, gonna spin it

Nobody's gonna mess me 'round

Hey, satan!

Paid my dues

Playin' in a rockin' band

Hey mama! Look at me

I'm on my way to the promised land

I'm on the highway to hell

Highway to hell

I'm on the highway to hell

Highway to hell

Don't stop me!

I'm on the highway to hell

On the highway to hell

I'm on the (highway to hell)

On the highway (to hell)

Highway to hell

I'm on the highway to hell

Highway to hell

Highway to hell

Highway to hell

Yeah I'm going down all the way

On the highway to hell.