Year 8, Day 199

Hey guys. Today's song is Thunderstruck by AC/DC.

Alright I showcased a version of this song once before done by the cello guys, but this is as good a place as any to do the original. So AC/DC is an Australian band active since 1973 and is still around with current members being Angus Young, Phil Rud, Cliff Williams, Brian Johnson, and Stevie Young. There is a huge list of past members that I'm not going to list for expediency, but I will say that the lineup when this song was released was Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Chris Slade. Over their career as a band, AC/DC has released 18 albums, with the first two being Australian exclusives in 1975, and the most recent released in 2020. This song specifically was from their 1990 album. The band was started by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young in 1973, and the name is thanks to their sister Margaret, who saw the abbreviation on the AC adapter of a sewing machine. It mean alternating current/direct current and the boys thought that fit with what the raw energy of the band. It makes more sense to me now that they use the high voltage lightning bolt in their branding of the name. The different eras of the group can more or less be marked by the singer at the time. In 1973 it was Dave Evans and sometimes manager Dennis Laughlin, then in 1974 it switched to Bon Scott who was with the group until his death in 1980. After that they thought of disbanding, but Scott's parents insisted he would want them to go on. And as it turned out, Scott had been a fan of Brian Johnson, who sang in a band called Geordie in the 70's. With Johnson being somewhat of an idol to Scott, he seemed like a good choice to take over for him. Johnson first appeared on the Back in Black album released in 1980, which the band had been working on when Scott passed. Their popularity declined through the 80's, but with the release of the album this song is on, it skyrocketed them back to the top. There is a lot more to their history if you want to look it up, I'm just trying not to make this too obnoxiously long for you. So look up more if you like.

Peace.