SUMMERTUNES 2010: "HIGHWAY TO HELL" AC DC RELEASED JULY 1979

'Highway to Hell’ was a song that probably scared the liver out of parents in the summer of 1979 when AC/DC unleashed it on a young musical audience of loyal listeners.

Here was an anthem without boundaries that leaned into the pitch of fun without rules. 

"No stop signs, no speed limits Nobody’s going to slow me down “- these guys were more anarchists than Satanists.

But the notoriety of the title meant that AC/DC had stepped on many toes with their title and content choice.

Unfortunately death from alcohol poisoning really slowed down lead singer Bon Scott shortly after the album release, but it really boosted sales.

One would guess that Scott would have preferred a less drastic marketing strategy but he sure had a great party song for that under-dash cassette player in your 1976 Pinto. This was basic simple rock at its finest-nothing special, just a straight ahead summer of 1979 party anthem.

The legacy of this early AC/DC hard rock classic is an anthem for a young late 70s audience of loyal fans who found their party voice with” Highway to Hell”.

That audience is now comfortably into middle age but, every now and then, they can dust off this classic from their misspent youth and remember a time when their rule book was a lot thinner...

Jim Sutherland @mystarcollectorcar.com  

COMMENTS

DENNIS:"This song is more than just a teenage ballad. It's part of the dividing line between youth songs like "Itsy bitsy teeny weenie yelow polka dot bikini" and the music you hear today.