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.