For three decades AC/DC has reigned as one of the best-loved and hardest-rocking bands in the world. Featuring guitarist Angus Young as their visual symbol and musical firebrand, they grew from humble origins in Australia to become an arena-filling phenomenon with worldwide popularity.

They did so without gimmickry, except for Angus’s schoolboy uniform, which became mandatory stage attire. From the beginning they have been a straight-ahead, no-frills rock and roll band that aimed for the gut.

This uncomplicated approach has given AC/DC a single-minded sense of mission. They’ve never recorded power ballads or gone soft to enhance their commercial appeal. Their unwavering devotion to no-frills hard rock with plenty of bawdy wit has made for a consistency that’s won them the loyalty of millions of fans, who range from working stiffs to the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards.

Another famous fan, author Stephen King, tapped AC/DC to assemble Who Made Who, the 1986 soundtrack album to the film version of his novel Maximum Overdrive. Angus Young was born into a family of musical siblings.

His oldest brother, George Young, belonged to the Easybeats, an Aussie beat group whose “Friday on My Mind” was a hit in most countries following its release in 1966 and a hit in America by the spring of 1967.

Another guitar-playing sibling, Malcolm Young, had the original idea for a no-nonsense rock band built around energetic Angus, who was the brood’s most talented musician. The Young brothers chose the name AC/DC, which implied electricity and a hint of danger.

The nascent AC/DC played their first gig at a club in Sydney on New Year’s Eve 1973. The group’s lineup solidified in 1974 when vocalist Bon Scott, drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Mark Evans replaced early members Dave Evans, Rob Bailey and Peter Clack.

Hungry and tirelessly hard-working, AC/DC toured and recorded constantly in the 1970s. Their first five studio albums - High Voltage (1975), T.N.T. (1975), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976), Let There Be Rock (1977) and Powerage (1978) - were produced by George Young and his Easybeats partner, Henry Vanda.

The Vanda-Young tandem captured the band’s raw energy in the studio. The group signed a worldwide contract with Atlantic Records in 1976; as a result, the American reissues of AC/DC’s early work differ significantly from the Australian originals.

Let There Be Rock (1977) was the first AC/DC album to be released simultaneously around the world. After its recording, tour-weary bassist Evans left, replaced by Cliff Williams. A live album, If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It), came at the end of 1978.

AC/DC’s studio mastery took a giant leap with Highway to Hell (1979), recorded over a six-month period in London instead of Australia. At George Young’s suggestion, they tried a new producer: John Robert “Mutt” Lange (who’d later work with Def Leppard and Shania Twain).

Angus sported a pair of devil’s horns on the jacket, which contributed to disapproval of AC/DC in some fundamentalist quarters. The band headlined its first European tour as Highway to Hell hit the British Top Ten and reached Number 17 in America.

These triumphs were followed by tragedy when singer Bon Scott died of asphyxiation following a drinking binge in 1980. Though devastated, Malcolm and Angus quickly began working up new material as a form of therapy.

After auditioning new vocalists, they settled on Brian Johnson, a native of Newcastle, England, whose gruff, aggressive vocals helped AC/DC successfully enter a dramatic new phase of its career. The group rebounded with Back in Black, whose title and all-black cover paid silent tribute to Scott.

The music rocked with a determined authority that catapulted AC/DC into a class with Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and the Rolling Stones. Because they were younger than those bands, AC/DC bonded with a youthful audience that kept them on top throughout the 1980s.

Back in Black was an instant classic that ranks as the sixth best-selling rock album of all time, having sold 19 million copies in the U.S. and 41 million worldwide. The album gave AC/DC a series of anthems that have formed the backbone of their live show: “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Back in Black” and “Hells Bells,” which began with the tolling of a two-ton bell.

Building on their momentum, AC/DC followed Back in Black with For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), whose title track is performed live as cannons detonate. A decade of hard work was rewarded when For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) became AC/DC’s first Number One album in America, selling a million copies in its first week of release.

Having ascended to the top of the hard-rock realm, AC/DC headlined 1984’s Monsters of Rock in Donnington, England and 1985’s Rock in Rio in Brazil, where they performed for an audience numbering nearly half a million.

More albums followed on a dependable schedule - Flick of the Switch (1983), Fly on the Wall (1985), Who Made Who (1986) and Blow Up Your Video (1988) - each of which yielded a few new AC/DC classics to the expanding canon.

In 1990 came The Razor’s Edge, whose opening track, “Thunderstruck,” was one of AC/DC’s strongest in years. It was based on a real-life experience: a lightning bolt struck the small plane in which Angus Young was flying, which nearly crashed as a result.

The album also contained an uncharacteristic hit single, “Moneytalks.” A live recording, prosaically entitled Live, appeared in 1992 and was made available as a double disc and an abridged single disc.

While not as prolific in the studio or omnipresent on the road in the 1990s, AC/DC continued to deliver when they did tour and record: in 1995 with Ballbreaker and in 2000 with Stiff Upper Lip. In 1997, during the five years between studio albums, the box set Bonfire was released.

Though their choruses were as infectious as anything on radio, AC/DC were fundamentally the antithesis of a Top Forty band. Thus, they’ve cracked the U.S. singles charts only three times: “You Shook Me All Night Long” (Number 35), “Back in Black” (Number 37) and “Moneytalks” (Number 23).

Their albums, on the other hand, have been all gone gold or platinum. In the America, AC/DC’s best-sellers are Back in Black (19 million copies sold), Highway to Hell (6 million), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (6 million), Who Made Who (5 million), Live (whose single and double-disc configurations have sold a combined 5 million), For Those About to Rock We Salute You (4 million), and The Razor’s Edge (4 million).

AC/DC moved from Atlantic to Sony in late 2002. Beginning in 2014 with Malcolm Young's departure from the band due to ill health, there were a number of lineup changes. After Rudd was hit with criminal charges in late 2014, he was replaced with former drummer Chris Slade.

Brian Johnson had to leave the band in 2016 due to worsening hearing loss and an inability to tour as a result. He was replaced by Axl Rose.