Best Albums !: AC/DC. Highway to Hell (1979)

Highway to Hell is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in July 1979. It is also AC/DC's fifth international studio album. All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott. It was the last album featuring Bon Scott, who died early the following year.

It was originally released by Albert Productions, who licensed to album to Atlantic Records for release outside of Australia, and was then re-released by Epic Records in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series. On May 25th 2006, Highway To Hell was certified 7x platinum by the RIAA. In 2003, the album was ranked number 197 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

By far their most popular album at the time of its release, Highway to Hell expanded AC/DC's audience considerably, positioning the band for breakthrough success the following year with Back in Black. It was the last AC/DC album recorded with lead vocalist Bon Scott before his untimely death in February 1980. The final words spoken by Scott on the album are "Shazbot, na-nu na-nu," phrases used on the then-popular American sitcom, Mork and Mindy, by lead character Mork (a visiting extraterrestrial played by Robin Williams).

Highway to Hell was the first AC/DC album not produced by Harry Vanda and George Young. Pre-production of the album began in January 1979 with demos cut at Albert Studios in Sydney, Australia, where they met the intended producer, Eddie Kramer. Kramer was fired before a single track had been completed, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange was brought in to replace him. The change proved to be fortuitous, with Lange also producing the band's biggest sellers, Back in Black and For Those About to Rock. The album was recorded during sessions in February 1979 at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida and March-April at Roundhouse Studios in London, England.

In Australia, Highway to Hell was released with a slightly different album cover, featuring flames and a drawing of a bass guitar neck superimposed over the same group photo used on the international cover. Additionally, the East German release had different designs on front and back, apparently because the authorities were not happy with the sleeve as released elsewhere.