Back in Black is a hard rock album by Australian band AC/DC, released in 1980 (see 1980 in music). After the success of Highway to Hell, their previous album, AC/DC began developing this particular album when lead singer Bon Scott died of alcohol poisoning. When Scott was replaced by Brian Johnson, the album was redone from scratch; with songs such as "Hell's Bells ", "Have a Drink on Me " and the title track it became a loose concept album on the theme of mortality and hedonism. The album (a breakthrough one for the band) became a huge success in the US and elsewhere. PopMatters ' Adam Williams claims that Back in Black 's importance in the development of 1980s music cannot be "overstated" [1]; the album revitalized popular music and helped make radio-friendly heavy metal and hard rock music possible.

There have been some interesting tribute albums released that have been entirely dedicated to Back in Black - one example being Back in Baroque... The String Tribute to AC/DC released in 2003. US death metal outfit Six Feet Under released their second covers album Graveyard Classics 2 in 2004, which was also an entire remake of Back in Black.

"Back in Black" is also the name of comedian Lewis Black's segment on The Daily Show. A short clip of the riffs from that song is included as music for the segment's opening credit.

In 2003 the TV network VH1 named Back in Black the 82nd greatest album of all time.

In 2003 the Recording Industry Association of America certified the classic "Back In Black" album as Double Diamond (20,000,000) sales in the US.

Track listing

1. "Hells Bells" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 5:09
2. "Shoot to Thrill" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 5:14
3. "What Do You Do for Money Honey" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 3:33
4. "Givin the Dog a Bone" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 3:30
5. "Let Me Put My Love Into You" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 4:12
6. "Back in Black" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 4:13
7. "You Shook Me All Night Long" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 3:28
8. "Have a Drink on Me" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 3:57
9. "Shake a Leg" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 4:03
10. "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" (Johnson/Young/Young) - 4:12

Personnel

• Brian Johnson - lead vocals
• Angus Young - lead guitar
• Malcolm Young - rhythm guitar
• Cliff Williams - bass guitar
• Phil Rudd - drums

• 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 positions

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album

1980   Pop Albums                      No. 4
1990   The Billboard 200               No. 126

Billboard (North America) - singles

1980    You Shook Me All Night Long     Pop Singles           No. 35
1981	Back In Black	                Mainstream Rock	      No. 51
1981	Hells Bells	                Mainstream Rock	      No. 50
1981	Shoot To Thrill	                Mainstream Rock	      No. 60
1981	Back In Black	                Pop Singles           No. 37