AC/DC’s shook me all night long is one of the most popular songs composed by the band, and to this date, it still remains as a rock and roll classic of the ’70s.
AC/DC had founding members originally from Australia. In 1973, brothers Angus and Malcolm Young formed AC/DC after being involved in other band stints in Australia. They named their band AC/DC when they saw this acronym on their sister’s sewing machine, which stands for alternating current/direct current. The brothers felt that the acronym was perfect because it reflected their band’s raw, energy-driven performance and their edgy personalities on stage. They insist their music genre to be simply rock and roll, although many music experts, fans, and casual listeners place their music in the hard rock genre. They are also known to be forerunners of heavy metal.
AC/DC is one of the top bands in history in terms of gross track and album sales. Several of their albums are tagged as the highest selling albums in rock history. For example, their Back in Black album is the top selling album in history just behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
The band’s song shook me all night Long belongs to the top three most popular songs of the band, along with Back in Black and Highway to Hell. Shook Me All Night Long is firstly found in the Back in Black album and then later featured on the band’s Who Made Who album. During the decades, it has garnered high ranks among various top song lists. For instance, the VH1 lists Shook Me All Night Long at number 10 on its list of “The 100 Greatest Songs of the ’80s.” VH1 also ranked it number 1 on its “Top Ten AC/DC Songs” list. Moreover, the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles list had Shook Me All Night Long at 35 during 1980. The song’s guitar solo, performed by Angus Young, was placed at number 80 in Guitar World’s “100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time” list.
The soaring and longstanding popularity of Shook Me All Night Long is attested to the fact that it has become a staple song in every one of the band’s concerts. The song is almost always on the band’s list by popular demand.
Shook Me All Night Long also has a music video set in a French town with the Young brothers following Brian Johnson’s escapades with a local beauty. It is filmed in black and white, but the band’s performance scenes were in full color. The Shook Me All Night Long music video was controversial in its own right because of its racy scenes.
