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'''Back in Black''' is the seventh studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 25 July 1980. ''Back in Black'' was the first AC/DC album recorded without former lead singer Bon Scott, who had died at the age of 33 on February 19, 1980. The band considered disbanding following Scott's death, but ultimately decided to continue and shortly thereafter hired Brian Johnson as their new lead singer and lyricist. Though the Young brothers had begun work on this album prior to Scott's death, and Scott had written lyrics for potential new songs, the decision was made to redo the album from scratch upon hiring Johnson.^[1] Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who had previously worked with AC/DC on ''Highway to Hell'', was again brought in to produce.
The album was remastered and re-released first in late 1994, then again in the Bonfire box set in 1997, and as part of the ''AC/DC Remasters Series'' in 2003. In addition, a Dualdisc version was released in 2005, featuring the album in enhanced LPCM Stereo format and the video documentary ''The Story of Back in Black''.
The album is estimated to have sold 42 million copies internationally, making it the 2nd-best-selling album of all time, behind only Michael Jackson's ''Thriller''.

Contents

Overview

Track listing

Personnel

Production

Chart performance

References

Notes

See also

External links

Overview

''Back in Black'' contained some of AC/DC's biggest hits, including the title track, "Back in Black," "Hells Bells," and "You Shook Me All Night Long". Angus Young has stated that the album's all-black cover was a "sign of mourning" for Scott, as black is the traditional color of mourning. It went on to become AC/DC's most popular album, the second best-selling album of all time, and the biggest selling album by any band, with more than 42 million copies sold worldwide.^[2] In 2006 ''Back in Black'' was certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as the fifth best-selling album in the United States, with 21 million copies sold.^[3] Despite its massive commercial success, it is not AC/DC's highest charting album, peaking at #4; their next album, ''For Those About to Rock We Salute You'', hit #1 in 1982.^[4]
In 1989, it was ranked #26 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of The 100 Greatest Albums of the 80's. In 2003, the album was ranked number 73 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[5]

Track listing

#"Hells Bells" – 5:12
#"Shoot to Thrill" – 5:17
#"What Do You Do for Money Honey" – 3:35
#"Givin' the Dog a Bone" – 3:32
#"Let Me Put My Love into You" – 4:15
#"Back in Black" – 4:15
#"You Shook Me All Night Long" – 3:30
#"Have a Drink on Me" – 3:59
#"Shake a Leg" – 4:06
#"Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" – 4:15

★ All songs written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Brian Johnson.

Personnel

★ Brian Johnson — lead vocals

★ Angus Young — lead guitar

★ Malcolm Young — rhythm guitar, backing vocals

★ Cliff Williams — bass guitar, backing vocals

★ Phil Rudd — drums

Production

★ Robert John "Mutt" Lange — Producer

★ Benji Armbrister — Assistant Engineer

★ Bob Defrin — Art Direction

★ Robert Ellis — Photography

★ Ted Jensen — Remastering

★ Tony Platt — Engineer

★ Brad Samuelsohn — Mixing

★ Jack Newber — Assistant Engineer

Chart performance

'Albums'^[6]4[7]

Year	Chart	Position
1980	UK Albums Chart	#1
1980	ARIA Albums Chart	#2
1980	Billboard Pop Albums	#4
1980	Ö3 Austria Top 40	#6
1980	Norwegian Album Charts	#18
1980	RIANZ Album Top 50	#24
1990	The Billboard 200	#126

'Singles'^[8][9]

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	"Rock 'N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"	UK Singles Chart	#15
1980	"You Shook Me All Night Long"	Billboard Hot 100	#35
1981	"Back In Black"	Billboard Hot 100	#37
1980	"You Shook Me All Night Long"	UK Singles Chart	#38
1981	"Hells Bells"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#50
1981	"Back In Black"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#51
1981	"Shoot To Thrill"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#60

References

★ .

Notes

1.
2. Record Breakers and Trivia: Albums
3. Top 100 Albums
4. AC/DC discography
5. 73) Back in Black
6. Charts & awards - Billboard albums
7. Number 1 Albums - 1980s
8. Charts & awards - Billboard singles
9. Every Hit

See also

★ List of number-one albums from the 1980s (UK)

★ ''Back in Baroque... The String Tribute to AC/DC''

External links

★ Lyrics on AC/DC's official website

★ Back In Black Guitar Tab