Highway to Hell (song)

"Highway to Hell"
A-side label of one of the Australian vinyl releases
Single by AC/DC
from the album Highway to Hell
B-side	"If You Want Blood (You've Got It)"
Released	27 July 1979
Format	7-inch single
Recorded	March–April 1979
Genre	Hard rock
Length	3:27
Label	Albert Productions
Songwriter(s)	Bon Scott, Angus Young, Malcolm Young
Producer(s)	Mutt Lange
AC/DC singles chronology
"Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" (1978) "Highway to Hell" (1979) "Girls Got Rhythm" (1979)
"Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" (1978) "Highway to Hell" (1979) "Girls Got Rhythm" (1979)
Music video
"Highway to Hell" on YouTube

"Highway to Hell" is the opening track of AC/DC's 1979 album Highway to Hell. It was initially released as a single in 1979.

The song was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott, with Angus Young credited for writing the guitar riff which became an instant classic.^[1] 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.^[1]

Background

The song's title reflects the incredibly arduous nature of touring constantly and life on the road.^[1]

The single spent 45 weeks on the German Singles Chart, even though it peaked at only No. 30, in its 19th week on that chart.^[2]

Bon Scott, whose talent as a singer and rock frontman was at a peak, was found dead in the back of a friend's car just over six months after the song was released.^[1]

"Highway to Hell" won the 'Most Played Australian Work Overseas' category at the 2009 APRA Awards.^[3]

Personnel

• Bon Scott – lead vocals
• Angus Young – lead guitar
• Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Cliff Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Phil Rudd – drums

Production

"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.^[1]

Live recordings

"Highway to Hell" has been included on three official live albums:

• Live: This was also released as a single. A video for the single was also released, containing a montage of footage from the Live at Donington home video.
• Let There Be Rock: The Movie
• Live at River Plate

List of accolades

• Ranked No. 258 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[4]
• Ranked No. 152 on the 500 Greatest Classic Rock Songs compiled by 94.5 XKR.
• Ranked No. 23 on The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time, a book by Martin Popoff.
• The song "Highway to Hell" is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.^[5]
• The master ringtone was certified Gold by the RIAA in June 2007 for sales in excess of 500,000.

Covers

• Sam Kinison covered the song in 1996 for his comedy album Leader of the Banned.
• Tiny Tim covered the song on his 1993 album "Rock".
• Ukrainian folk-punk band Vopli Vidopliassova used the music as the basis for a bayan-based song, "Galyu, prykhod'!", in 1987. The song was released for the first time on the band's debut album Kraina Mriy in 1994.
• Marilyn Manson covered it as part of the soundtrack for the 1999 film Detroit Rock City.
• In 2002, Angry Samoan covered it for the punk tribute album For Those About To Rawk: A Punk Tribute to AC/DC.
• American band Lazlo Bane recorded the song for their 1970s covers album Guilty Pleasures, though hard rock is not their typical music style.
• Maroon 5 performed it on their Songs About Jane Tour, with Ryan Dusick (drummer) on vocals and lead guitar. Their version of it is also on their live EP 1.22.03.Acoustic.
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed the song several times through their tour of Australia in 2014, and released a single of the son in 2014.
• Quiet Riot covered the song on their 1999 studio release, Alive & Well.
• In 2010, the song was covered by Jonathan Groff in the Glee episode, "Hell-O".
• X Factor UK 2014 contestant Ben Haenow covered at 4th live show.
• Billy Joel has performed it live regularly throughout the years.
• Stary Olsa, a medieval folk music band from Belarus included a "Highway to Hell" on an album of classic rock cover songs, done on medieval instruments.
• Carla Bruni covered the song on her 2017 studio album, French Touch.

Chart performance

Track listing

See also

• Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell

References