AC/DC ( B8 )

AC/DC's first American radio exposure was through Bill Bartlett at Jacksonville station WPDQ/WAIV in 1975, two years before they played their first US concert as support band for Canadian group Moxy in Austin, Texas, on 27 July 1977. Under the guidance of booking agent Doug Thaler of American Talent International and later the management of Leber-Krebs, they gained invaluable experience of the US stadium circuit, supporting leading rock acts such as Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Kiss, Styx, UFO, and Blue Öyster Cult, and co-headlined with bands such as Cheap Trick.

AC/DC released their fifth studio album, Powerage, on 5 May 1978, and with its harder riffs, followed the blueprint set by Let There Be Rock. Only one single was released from Powerage, "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation/Sin City". An appearance at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow during the Powerage tour was recorded and released as If You Want Blood You've Got It.

The major breakthrough in the band's career came in their collaboration with producer "Mutt" Lange on the band's sixth studio album Highway to Hell, released in 1979. Eddie Van Halen notes this to be his favourite AC/DC record, along with Powerage. It became the first AC/DC LP to break into the US top 100, eventually reaching No. 17, and it propelled AC/DC into the top ranks of hard rock acts. Highway to Hell had lyrics that shifted away from flippant and comical toward more central rock themes, putting increased emphasis on backing vocals but still featured AC/DC's signature sound: loud, simple, pounding riffs and grooving backbeats.

Scott's death (1980)

In 1980, the band began to work on their seventh studio album Back in Black, but as the development was in progress, a few casualties arose. On 19 February 1980, Scott purportedly passed out in the car on the way back to the apartment of an acquaintance called Alistair Kinnear after a night of drinking and alleged drug taking at The Music Machine in Camden, London.

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