You Shook Me All Night Long

Hey there, Zoo Freaks, your hippie DJs from The Zoo Crew are cranking up the vibes with AC/DC’s electrifying anthem, “You Shook Me All Night Long,” from their iconic Back in Black album! This track’s got some wild stories behind it. Legend has it, Brian Johnson, the band’s new frontman at the time, wrote the lyrics in one night to impress guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young after joining the band in 1980. He was fresh off a plane to The Bahamas, where they were laying down tracks, and channeled his love for cars into those opening lines: “She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean.” Johnson once joked he had to “repay the band for his plane ticket” with this banger! But there’s a twist—some folks, like Bon Scott’s former girlfriend Silver Smith and booking agent Doug Thaler, swear the late Bon Scott penned parts of the lyrics back in ’76. One line, “She told me to come, but I was already there,” has Bon’s cheeky double-entendre style all over it, as seen in songs like “Big Balls.” Journalist Malcolm Dome even claims he saw Bon’s lyric sheets with that exact phrase. The debate rages on, but it just adds to the song’s mystique!

Another juicy tidbit comes from the song’s music videos—yep, there are two! The 1986 version, directed by David Mallet, is pure ’80s cheese, with Brian Johnson scrubbing down in a tub and a woman riding a mechanical bull, surrounded by gals on exercise bikes. It’s like a rock ‘n’ roll fever dream! The earlier video, shot in 1980, featured Page 3 model Corinne Russell, a UK starlet who also appeared on The Benny Hill Show. Fans on Reddit’s r/ACDC have geeked out over this track, with some praising its “stripped-back riffola” and others marveling at how it hit No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 despite its raunchy lyrics dodging censorship. Brian Johnson himself called it one of the greatest rock riffs ever in a 2014 interview, and it landed at No. 10 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Songs of the 80s.” Fun fact: Celine Dion and Anastacia belted out a duet of this song at VH1 Divas Las Vegas in 2002, proving its cross-genre swagger!

Now, let’s rewind to how AC/DC got their start. Formed in Sydney, Australia, in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, these lads were born in Scotland but moved Down Under as kids. Inspired by the raw energy of Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones, they started jamming in their teens, with Angus rocking his now-iconic schoolboy outfit—a nod to his days sneaking gigs after class. Their big brother, George Young, a member of the Easybeats, helped them score early gigs and produce their first albums. Bon Scott, a rough-and-tumble singer with a knack for gritty lyrics, joined in 1974, and their bluesy, high-voltage sound took off with albums like High Voltage and Highway to Hell. After Bon’s tragic death in 1980 from alcohol poisoning, Brian Johnson, formerly of the UK band Geordie, stepped in. His debut on Back in Black—which has sold over 50 million copies—cemented AC/DC as rock royalty. Angus’s relentless riffs and Malcolm’s rhythm guitar kept the band’s heart pumping through decades of tours and hits.

Zoo Freaks, you can keep up with AC/DC on their official website, where they drop tour news and merch. Follow their high-voltage posts on Facebook, Instagram, and X, where they share throwbacks like a 1990 interview about “You Shook Me All Night Long.” Fans go wild on sites like Highway to ACDC, a killer fan hub with deep dives into the band’s history, and the AC/DC Fans Facebook group, where over 100,000 headbangers swap stories and rare pics. There’s also AC/DC Fans.net, packed with forums and trivia for diehards. So crank up “You Shook Me All Night Long,” join the r/ACDC crew online, and let’s keep the rock ‘n’ roll party shaking all night long!