Hats Off for ACϟDC
I thought it would be nice to make an AC/DC tribute song, celebrating this remarkable rock 'n' roll band, and their 50 year anniversary.
ACϟDC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. The band themselves call their music "rock and roll". Producer Rick Rubin, who wrote an essay on the band for the Rolling Stone, referred to them as "the greatest rock and roll band of all time". In 2003 they were inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame.
... Everywhere they played, the crowd had a blast..."
The song developed out of some riffs I had in the style of Malcolm Young (1953-2017 RIP) of ACϟDC. Bob Campbell (West Virginia, US, vocals) and I wrote the lyrics, and the song was originally called "Hats off to AC/DC". We needed to change the title to conform to Spotify distribution rules, which don't accept Band names in the title.
Bob came up with some great lines, like...
... Been dancing to a Whole Lotta Rosie,
Drinking all night long to Hells Bells..."
I was keen for this to be a tribute, focusing on the excellence of the band, the excitement of the live shows etc, and not focusing on any downsides.
Thanks to Dan Iovino (Venice, Italy, drums) for this rock steady drums and for being a great person to collaborate with. Also Vijay Puri (Nashville, Tennessee, US, lead guitar) for joining the collaboration early on and coming out with some great Angus-ish lead guitar breaks! :-)
Also Delighted to have Bob (Kompoz legend vocalist) providing some great powerful vocal lines in the style of ACϟDC. I played the rhythm and bass guitars.
In case you were wondering, the band name "High Wattage", is a virtual band - we needed a band name to release the track on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube etc, and that was the name we agreed upon, with it's AC/DC reference (High Voltage). Who knows, one day we might get to play together in the same space. As it was, the transatlantic collaboration was done remotely.
An older version of this song is also available on Spotify... I've done a bit of work on it since it was released and I think the version at the top of the page is better!
If you like this song you may also like another ACDC inspired song here.
Lyrics by Bob Campbell and Shaun Dugan
Intro ad lib vocals.
Yeah that's right,
It's ACϟDC night!
Verse 1
Down under in Sydney, back in 1973,
The Young's formed a band,
Set out to rock the land,
Called it ACϟDC,
Chuck Berry and the Stones,
Were playing high voltage rock n roll,
They could swing real low,
And they could swing real fast,
Everywhere they played the crowd had a blast!
Chorus 1
Hats off to ACϟDC,
Picture of a rock 'n' roll band,
Hats off to ACϟDC,
The best jams known to man, yeah!
Verse 2
It was time to hit the road with Sabbath,
Kiss, Aerosmith and more,
It was a long way to the top my friends,
But they were knocking on the Devil's door,
They finally hit the big time,
With Highway to Hell,
When Bon passed, they were shot down in flames,
But Brian stepped in, and put them back in the game.
Chorus 2
Hats off to ACϟDC,
Ridin' that rock 'n' roll train,
Hats off to ACϟDC,
Thunderstruck and drivin' me insane!
Middle quiet section
Hats off to ACϟDC,
You know who made who,
Hats off to ACϟDC,
Got the big guns running too! (cannon fire sfx!!)
Verse 3
Been dancing to a whole lotta Rosie,
Drinking all night long to Hells Bells,
With a touch too much,
Of what's next to the moon,
Have a drink on me for sure,
I spent some time in Sin City
A problem child with a stiff upper lip,
You' got to shoot to thrill my friends,
To Trust up baby, Rock or Bust!
Chorus 3
Hats off to ACϟDC,
Picture of a rock n roll band,
Hats off to ACϟDC,
The best jams known to man, yeah, come on!
Guitar solo
Chorus 4
Hats off to ACϟDC,
Picture of a rock n roll band,
Hats off to ACϟDC,
The best jams known to man, yeah!
Ridin that rock n roll train,
Thunderstruck and drivin' me insane, Yeah!