It ain’t easy narrowing down a list of AC/DC fan favorite songs. I could list 20 great AC/DC songs off the top of my head. As much flack as they have gotten for “Releasing the same album every time,” I love different AC/DC song’s for different reasons. As far as their records sounding alike… Malcolm Young said it best, “Yeah, it’s the same band,”
Any Surprises from the Research on AC/DC Fan Favorite Songs?
100%. You could tell the deeper fans off the bat when their top three songs consist of “Soul Stripper” or “Down Payment Blues.” They definitely know their AC/DC. There was also a lot of love for “Jailbreak” and “Who Made Who.” The last song was a part of the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack. The video features a legion of Angus Young clones.
Another surprise: “You Shook Me All Night Long” didn’t get a monstrous amount of votes… In fact it barely missed the top 8 AC/DC fan favorite songs coming in nineth place. “You Shook Me” is a signature song for AC/DC. The YouTube video has more that 367 million views and more than 1.4 billion streams on Spotify.
As for how my research was conducted, I used Reddit and Facebook to harvest answers for favorite AC/DC songs. So what did make it into the top 8 AC/DC fan favorite songs? Let’s take a look!
8 Fan Favorite AC/DC Songs
#8 "Shoot to Thrill"
“Shoot to Thrill” is a part of the Back in Black album, but it had a resurgence with the release of Iron Man 2 in 2010. The soundtrack is made up all nothing but AC/DC songs and “Shoot to Thrill” and “Highway to Hell” are in the movie. This video is comprised of splices between AC/DC on stage and Tony Stark’s grand entrance from Iron Man 2. This video was released before the film and served as a video promo.
#7 "Whole Lotta Rosie"
“Whole Lotta Rosie” was inspired by a real woman that Bon Scott spent time with. The story of Rosie varies greatly. Loudwire speaks about writer, Jesse Fink. Fink claims to have tracked down the real woman saying her name is Rosemaree and that she ran a brothel in Tasmania. Songfacts says the tale of the song was told by Bon Scott back in 1976 and that the woman’s name was Bertha.
#6 "Back in Black"
The Back in Black album is the 6th highest selling album in U.S history and has gone platinum 19 times. The title track is a celebration of Bon Scott’s life. You can read the story behind the song HERE. The video has more than 1.1 billion views on YouTube.
#5 "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
Definitely one of my favorites. “Dirty Deeds” comes from a ’60s cartoon named Beany and Cecil. The villain, “Dishonest John,” carried a business card that said, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Holidays, Sundays, and Special Rates.”
#4 "It's Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock and Roll)"
So amazing, this song tells the actual story of AC/DC trying to make it. Night after night playing their guts out on the road praying for a break. “It’s A Long Way To The Top” really summed us up as a band,” Angus Young told Rolling Stone. “It was the audience that really allowed us to even get near a studio.” The video is magnificent showing the band playing on a flatbed and rolling down the street. This is also one of a very small group of rock songs that feature the bagpipes. Bon Scott played the bagpipes for this song… he had no prior experience. The rest of that story can be read on Ultimateguitar.com.
![AC/DC - It's A Long Way To The Top [Official Music Video], Full HD (Remaster, Resync and Upscale)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g-qkY2yj4_A/mqdefault.jpg)
#3 "Highway to Hell"
The whole band looking impossibly young and what a joy to see Bon Scott perform… even if the video is pretty obviously lip-synced. “Highway to Hell” is a jam we can identify with in any traffic jam and beyond, The story does that the song was written about a strip of Canning Highway in Australia that ran into mountains and had a rock and roll bar on a dangerous patch. “Highway to Hell” was the first AC/DC song to chart in the U.S. This was also the last album to feature Bon Scott.
#2 "Thunderstruck"
In liner notes from the 2003 rerelease of Razors Edge, Angus Young said, “It started off from a little trick that I had on guitar. I played it to Mal and he said, ‘Oh I’ve got a good rhythm idea that will sit well in the back.’ We built the song up from that. We fiddled about with it for a few months before everything fell into place.” Lyrically, “Thunderstruck” was rumored to have been inspired by Angus Young after a plane he was in was struck by lightning. The video has more than 1.5 billion views.
#1 "Hells Bells"
“Hells Bells” is the first track of Back in Black. The whole album is a tribute to Bon Scott. You can’t have a tribute album start with bell ringing sound effects. AC/DC wanted a serious real bell. The band commissioned a one-ton bronze bell from a local foundry that they would also use on stage. The bell wasn’t ready in time for recording, so a mobile recording unit was wheeled into the foundry. The bell was hung up and struck by the man who made it (John Taylor of Bellfounders).
