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Highway to Hell (song)

"Highway to Hell" is a song by Australian rock band AC/DC. It is the opening track of their 1979 album Highway to Hell, initially released as a single on 27 July 1979, the same day the album was released.

"Highway to Hell"
One of side-A labels of the US single
Single by AC/DC
from the album Highway to Hell
B-side"If You Want Blood" (Aus/UK)
"Night Prowler" (US)
Released27 July 1979
RecordedMarch – April 1979
StudioRoundhouse (London)
GenreHard rock[1]
Length3:27
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Robert John "Mutt" Lange
AC/DC singles chronology
"Rock 'n' Roll Damnation"
(1978) 		"Highway to Hell"
(1979) 		"Girls Got Rhythm"
(1979)
Music video
"Highway to Hell" on YouTube

The song was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott, with Angus Young credited for writing the guitar riff.[2] AC/DC had made several studio albums before and were constantly promoting them via a grueling tour schedule, referred to by Angus Young as being on a highway to hell, hence the name.

Background

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The song is in the key of A Major.[3] The title and lyrics reflect the arduous nature of touring constantly and life on the road.[2] The highway that inspired the title, Canning Highway, connects the Perth Kwinana freeway to its port Fremantle and was home to many of Bon Scott's favourite pubs and hotels, including the Raffles Hotel.[4][5]

"There were hundreds of riffs going down every day," recalled Malcolm Young. "But this one, we thought, 'That's good.' It just stuck out like a dog's balls."[6]

Cashbox called it a "bone crunching, gut-wrenching exercise in primal guitar rock" with "simple yet effective riffing" and "ballsy vocals."[7] Record World said that "Growling vocals join a raunchy guitar assualt [sic] for simple, high voltage, rock'n'roll abandon."[8]

The single spent 45 weeks on the German Singles Chart, peaked at #30 in its 19th week on the chart.[9] Bon Scott was found dead in the back of a friend's car, just over six months after the song was released.[2]

Production

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"Highway to Hell" was produced by Mutt Lange as part of the album by the same name, and his work is regarded as a significant factor in delivering one of the classic AC/DC albums, the emergence of the double-guitar sound, which was later perfected on Back in Black, and improved backing vocals with Malcolm Young, joined by Cliff Williams for the first time.[2]

Legacy

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"Highway to Hell" won the 'Most Played Australian Work Overseas' category at the 2009 APRA Awards.[10] In 2013, an internet campaign attempted to get it to number one in the UK Christmas singles chart.[11]

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Highway to Hell" was ranked number 40.[12]

It was the namesake for the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Stand in the manga Stone Ocean.[13]

In 2020, The Guardian ranked the song number seven on their list of the 40 greatest AC/DC songs,[14] and in 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number five on their list of the 20 greatest AC/DC songs.[15]

It was the theme song for the WWE's Summerslam 1998 PPV show, and it was used in a vignette highlighting the main event match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker for the WWF Championship.

List of accolades

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Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (1979/80) Peak
position
Australian (Kent Music Report)[18] 24
Austrian Singles Chart 52
Belgian Singles Chart 14
Dutch Singles Chart 17
French Singles Chart 23
German Singles Chart 30
Spanish Singles Chart 24
Swedish Singles Chart 36
UK Singles Chart[19] 56
US Billboard 100[20] 47
Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[21] 29
Dutch Singles Chart[22] 69
Swiss Singles Chart[22] 37
US Billboard Mainstream Rock 1
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Scottish Singles Chart 36
UK Singles Chart[19] 40
Billboard Hot Digital Songs 1
Chart (2013) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[11] 4
Irish Singles Chart 23
Scottish Singles Chart 36
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Global 200 (Billboard)[23] 142
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Hungary (Single Top 40)[24] 16

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[25] 2× Platinum 120,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[26] Platinum 90,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[27] Platinum 500,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[28] 2× Platinum 100,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[29] Diamond+Platinum+Gold 390,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[30] 2× Platinum 80,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[31] 3× Platinum 180,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[32]
since 2010 		2× Platinum 1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[33]
since 2003 		6× Platinum 6,000,000‡
United States (RIAA)[34]
mastertone, since 2003 		Gold 500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Live recordings

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"Highway to Hell (live)"
Single by AC/DC
from the album AC/DC Live
B-side"Hells Bells (live)"
ReleasedOctober 1992
Recorded1991
Genre
Length3:53
LabelAtco
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bruce Fairbairn
AC/DC singles chronology
"Are You Ready"
(1991) 		"Highway to Hell (live)"
(1992) 		"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (live)"
(1992)
Music video
"Highway to Hell" (AC/DC Live) on YouTube

"Highway to Hell" has been performed multiple times in live concert. Including:

References

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  1. ^ Smith, Troy L. (24 May 2016). "50 greatest album-opening songs". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 31 December 2018. Singer Bon Scott's crowning achievement with AC/DC is the opening title-track for 'Highway to Hell,' a hard rock anthem that remains one of the band's greatest songs.
  2. ^ a b c d Wall, Mick (2012). AC/DC: Hell Aint a Bad Place to Be. London: Orion Publishing group. ISBN 9781409115359.
  3. ^ "Highway to Hell". Musicnotes.com. 26 April 2010.
  4. ^ "AC/DC – The Stories Behind The Songs". NME. 28 January 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  5. ^ Harmon, Steph (20 October 2019). "Highway to Hell: 10 km of major Perth highway to shut for AC/DC covers concert". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Bon Scott: The Songs". Classic Rock. No. 212. Summer 2015. p. 43.
  7. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 22 September 1979. p. 20. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. 22 September 1979. p. 28. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de". musicline.de.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ "2009 Winners". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 12 January 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". officialcharts.com.
  12. ^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  13. ^ "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Every Stand Introduced in Netflix's Stone Ocean So Far". 16 December 2021.
  14. ^ Hann, Michael (30 July 2020). "AC/DC – their 40 greatest songs, ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  15. ^ Law, Sam (3 February 2021). "The 20 greatest AC/DC songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  16. ^ 500 Greatest Songs of All Time – Highway to Hell. Rolling Stone.
  17. ^ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  18. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 11. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. ^ a b "highway to hell | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  20. ^ "AC/DC Highway To Hell Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  21. ^ "AC/DC – Highway to Hell". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  22. ^ a b "AC/DC – Highway To Hell (Live) – hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  23. ^ "AC DC Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  24. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – AC/DC – Highway to Hell" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  26. ^ "Danish single certifications – AC/DC – Highway to Hell". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  27. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (AC/DC; 'Highway to Hell')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  28. ^ "Italian single certifications – AC/DC – Highway to Hell" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
  29. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 2 January 2023. Type AC/DC in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Highway to Hell in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  30. ^ "Portuguese single certifications – AC/DC – Highway to Hell" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  31. ^ "Spanish single certifications – AC/DC – Highway to Hell". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  32. ^ "British single certifications – AC/DC – Highway to Hell". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  33. ^ "American single certifications – AC/DC – Highway to Hell". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  34. ^ "American ringtone certifications – AC/DC – Highway to Hell". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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