Highway to Hell (song)

July 1979 ( Single), July 27, 1979 ( Album)

Highway to Hell is a song by Australian rock band AC / DC. It has been previously published in July 1979 as the first single from their eponymous album. The song reached number 30 in the charts in the U.S., the single reached number 47 on the charts.

Music style

Highway to Hell is a mid-tempo rock song with a tempo of about 113 BPM. The strings are tuned not to concert pitch, but on an a with about 430 Hertz.

Formation

The main riff of Highway to Hell was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott were also involved in the songwriting, the latter wrote the text. The piece is based on the life on the road. The magazine said the Metro later singer Brian Johnson: "It was written about being on the bus on the road where it takes forever to get from Melbourne or Sydney to Perth across the Nullarbor Plain. When the Sun's setting in the west and you're driving across it, it is like a fireball. There is nothing to do, except have a quick one off the wrist or a game of cards, so that's where Bon came up with the lyrics. " ( " It was written about life in the bus when it takes an eternity, from Melbourne or Sydney to cross the Nullarbor Plain to Perth. When the sun sets in the west and you believe are driving past, it is like a ball of fire. There is nothing to do, except you masturbate short times one or to play cards. Here Bon fell the text. " ) an often -mentioned explanation for the title is a reference to the Canning Highway in Australia, which was indicated at a location near Fremantle Highway to Hell. In the vicinity of Bon Scott's favorite pub The Raffles, there have been at the end of a slope at an intersection particularly large number of victims.

Highway to Hell was the first AC / DC song that reached the charts in the U.S.. He also helped to boost album sales. The song was a live classic. 2 CD Collector's Edition re-released as a single: 1992 was a live version from the album Live. The song was among other things, on the live Releases Live and Let There Be Rock: The Movie included.

Reception

The Rolling Stone magazine placed the song on the 254th place of its 500 best songs of all time. The author Martin Popoff placed the song at number 23 in his book The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time.