More than three decades into a career that shows no signs of slowing down or letting up, AC/DC, like electricity itself, provides the world with an essential source of power and energy. Since forming in 1973, AC/DC's high voltage rock 'n' roll has flowed out into the world via consistently sold-out concert tours and global sales totaling more than 200 million albums and counting. Sony BMG Music Entertainment's #1 best-selling catalog act worldwide,
AC/DC has sold nearly 71 million albums in the U.S. alone, making AC/DC one of the five top-selling bands in American music history.
One of the group's best-loved works, the enormously successful and influential "Back In Black," has achieved RIAA "Double Diamond" status, for sales in excess of 22 million copies in the United States, and is the U.S.'s fifth largest-selling album ever.
But the roots of AC/DC lie back in Australia, and before that Glasgow, Scotland, where Angus and Malcolm Young, the musical core of the band (and still the most formidable guitar team in rock history), were born (in 1958 and 1953, respectively). In 1963, the Young family migrated to Sydney, Australia, where music would make its mark on the brothers. (As a member of the Easybeats, Angus and Malcolm's older sibling, George Young, was responsible for one of Australia's first international hits, "Friday On My Mind," in 1966. From 1974 through 2000, George and musical collaborator, Harry Vanda, produced a number of AC/DC albums including "High Voltage," "T.N.T.," "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," "Let There Be Rock," "If You Want Blood You've Got It," "Powerage," "74 Jailbreak," "Who Made Who," "Blow Up Your Video," and "Stiff Upper Lip.")