AC/DC - THUNDERSTRUCK

THUNDERSTRUCK

AC/DC

SONGWRITERS: ANGUS YOUNG & MALCOLM YOUNG

COUNTRY: AUSTRALIA

ALBUM: THE RAZORS EDGE

LABEL: ATCO RECORDS

GENRE: HARD ROCK

YEAR: 1990

AC/DC (stylized as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, the band themselves call it simply "rock and roll".

AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, 1975's High Voltage. Membership subsequently stabilised around the Young brothers, singer Bon Scott, drummer Phil Rudd, and bassist Mark Evans. Evans was fired from the band in 1977 and replaced by Cliff Williams, who has appeared on every AC/DC album since 1978's Powerage. In February 1980, Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of heavy drinking. The group considered disbanding but elected to stay together, bringing in longtime Geordie vocalist Brian Johnson as Scott's replacement. Later that year, the band released their first album with Johnson, Back in Black, which was dedicated to Scott's memory. The album launched AC/DC to new heights of success and became one of the best selling albums of all time.

The band's eighth studio album, For Those About to Rock We Salute You (1981), was their first album to reach number one in the United States. Prior the release of 1983's Flick of the Switch, drummer Rudd left the band and was replaced by Simon Wright, being in turn replaced by Chris Slade in 1989. The band experienced a commercial resurgence in the early nineties with the release of 1990's The Razors Edge. Rudd returned to the band in 1994, replacing Slade and appearing on the band's next four albums. Their fifteenth studio álbum Black Ice was the second-highest-selling album of 2008, and their biggest chart hit since For Those About to Rock, eventually reaching No.1 worldwide.

The band's line-up remained the same until 2014 with Malcolm Young's retirement due to early-onset dementia (he later died in 2017) and Rudd's legal troubles. In 2016, Johnson was advised to stop touring due to worsening hearing loss. Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose stepped in as the band's vocalist for the remainder of that year's dates. Long-term bass player and background vocalist Cliff Williams retired from the band at the end of their 2016 Rock or Bust World Tour and the group has been inactive since then. Nevertheless, they have not officially disbanded and unconfirmed reports of a new album and tour with the surviving Back in Black-era lineup continue to circulate.

AC/DC have sold more than 200 million records worldwide, including 71.5 million albums in the United States, making them the tenth highest-selling artist in the United States and the 14th best selling artist worldwide. Back in Black has sold an estimated 50 million units worldwide, making it the third highest-selling album by any artist, and the highest-selling album by any band. The album has sold 22 million units in the US, where it is the sixth-highest-selling album of all time. AC/DC ranked fourth on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and were named the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time" by MTV. In 2004, AC/DC ranked No. 72 on the Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Producer Rick Rubin, who wrote an essay on the band for the Rolling Stone list, referred to AC/DC as "the greatest rock and roll band of all time". In 2010, VH1 ranked AC/DC number 23 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2003. During the ceremony the band performed "Highway to Hell" and "You Shook Me All Night Long", with guest vocals provided by host Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. He described the band's power chords as "the thunder from down under that gives you the second most powerful surge that can flow through your body." During the acceptance speech, Brian Johnson quoted their 1977 song "Let There Be Rock".

On 22 March 2000, the municipality of Leganés (near Madrid) named a street in honour of the band as "Calle de AC/DC" ("AC/DC Street"). Malcolm and Angus attended the inauguration with many fans. Later that day, the plaque with the name of the group was stolen, perhaps by an enthusiast or collector. The plaque was replaced two hours later, and stolen once again a mere three days after the fact. The plaque had since been stolen numerous times, forcing the municipality of Leganés to begin selling replicas of the official street plaque.

In May 2003, the Young brothers accepted a Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Service to Australian Music at the 2003 Music Winners Awards, during which Malcolm paid special tribute to Bon Scott, who was also a recipient of the award.

On 1 October 2004, a central Melbourne thoroughfare, Corporation Lane, was renamed ACDC Lane in honour of the band. The City of Melbourne forbade the use of the slash character in street names, so the four letters were combined. The lane is near Swanston Street where, on the back of a truck, the band recorded their video for the 1975 hit "It's a Long Way to the Top".

They sold over 1.3 million CDs in the US during 2007 despite not having released a new album since 2000 at that point. Additionally, the group's commercial success continues to flourish despite their choice to refrain from selling albums in digital online formats for many years. However, in November 2012, the entire catalogue (excluding the TNT album and the Australian versions of the High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Let There Be Rock albums) became available on the iTunes Store.

In 2009, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) upgraded the group's US sales figures from 69 million to 71 million, making AC/DC the fifth-best-selling band in US history and the tenth-best-selling artist, selling more albums than Madonna and Mariah Carey. The RIAA also certified Back in Black as double Diamond (20million) in US sales, and by 2007 the album had sold 22 million copies, which made it the fifth-best-selling album of all-time in the US.

The Razors Edge is the twelfth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC released in September 1990. It was the band's eleventh internationally released studio album and the twelfth to be released in Australia. It was a major comeback for the band, featuring the hits "Thunderstruck" and "Are You Ready", which reached #5 and #16 respectively on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart, and "Moneytalks", which peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album reached #2 on the US Billboard 200 and #4 in the UK, a smash commercial success that returned the band to the popularity of its glory years of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The album has been certified 5x platinum (5 million copies sold) in the US, and was re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

I was caught

In the middle of a railroad track (thunder)

I looked round

And I knew there was no turning back (thunder)

My mind raced

And I thought what could I do (thunder)

And I knew

There was no help, no help from you (thunder)

Sound of the drums

Beatin' in my heart

The thunder of guns

Tore me apart

You've been thunderstruck

Rode down the highway

Broke the limit, we hit the town

Went through to Texas, yeah, Texas

And we had some fun

We met some girls

Some dancers who gave a good time

Broke all the rules, played all the fools

Yeah, yeah, they, they, they blew our minds

I was shakin' at the knees

Could I come again, please?

Yeah, the ladies were too kind

You've been thunderstruck, thunderstruck

Yeah, yeah, yeah, thunderstruck

Yeah

Oh, thunderstruck, yeah

Now we're shaking at the knees

Could I come again, please?

Thunderstruck, thunderstruck

Yeah, yeah, yeah, thunderstruck

Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah

Said: Yeah, it's alright

We're doing fine

Yeah, it's alright

We're doing fine

(So fine)

Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah

Thunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck

Whoa, baby, baby, thunderstruck

You've been thunderstruck, thunderstruck

Thunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck

You've been thunderstruck.