It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)

The song chronicles the hardships endured by a rock band on tour, such as being robbed, assaulted, stoned and cheated by a greedy agent. However, the band accepts these hardships as natural on the path to stardom, saying that "It's a long way to the top/If you wanna rock 'n' roll".[5]

While in the studio working up a new jam, George Young (the older brother of Angus and Malcolm) heard that Bon Scott was in a pipe band and encouraged the use of bagpipes in the song. The band went out and purchased a set of pipes at what was then an extortionately high price (AU$479) that 'would have bought two stra[ocasters]' according to Mark Evans.[6] Simply putting the pipe-set together proved tricky and it became rapidly apparent that Scott had never played the instrument before, having in fact been a drummer in the pipe band.[1] Nonetheless, Scott taught himself to play well enough to record and perform the song (initially with the help of tape loops). However, playing the song in concert was made difficult by the fact that the whole band would have to tune the pipe drone. Thus the song, though iconic of the band's early repertoire, was probably played live no more than 30 times[7] The last occasion was in 1976, following an incident where Scott set down the pipe-set at the corner of a stage during a concert at St Albans High School in St Albans, Victoria, Australia and they were destroyed by fans.[1][8] Subsequent live performances (relatively rare) used a recording of the song's bagpipe part or an extended guitar solo by Angus.[2]

• Bon Scott – lead vocals, bagpipes
• Angus Young – lead guitar
• Malcolm Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Mark Evans – bass guitar[9]
• Phil Rudd – drums
• Harry Vanda, George Young – producers

The music video for "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)", was filmed on 23 February 1976 for the Australian music television program Countdown. It featured the band's members on the back of a flatbed truck travelling on Swanston Street in Melbourne, Australia, being followed by members of the Rats of Tobruk Pipe band. Known members of the Rats of Tobruk Pipe Band at the time of the video's filming include: Alan Butterworth, Les Kenfield and Kevin Conlon. The video was dubbed with the studio track from the album T.N.T. and is available on the Family Jewels DVD.[10]

The video was directed by Paul Drane.[11] David Olney was the cameraman.[12]

Two other videos for the song exist. One version, filmed the same day as the truck version, features the group miming the song on a stage in Melbourne's City Square in front of an audience.[13] The pipe players appear here as well. This version is available in the Backtracks box set. A third version features the group simply miming the song on a soundstage, making it appear as if it were being played live (This version is considered rare and as of 2014 hasn't been officially released on any DVD compilations; it can be found on YouTube). Also, a version of the group performing the song on Australian Bandstand with Scott singing live over the studio track appears on the DVD set Plug Me In.

In May 2001, Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best Australian Songs of all time, as decided by a 100-member industry panel. "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" was ranked as the ninth song on the list.[14] The song is regularly played during stoppages at AFL matches at the ANZ stadium in Sydney.

The song was also used in the comedy movie School of Rock (2003) during the ending credits sequence when Jack Black's character, Dewey Finn, is giving his kids an "after-school lesson" on rock. It was also performed by Jack Black and the kids during the band contest. This song was also featured in the movie Only the Brave (2017) During One of the many firefighting scenes. In 2010, this song was ranked no. 3 in Triple M's Ultimate 500 Rock Countdown in Melbourne. The top five were all AC/DC songs.[15]

In 2012, this song was inducted into the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia.[16]

In the third episode of Empire of Cricket, a 2009 British BBC-TV documentary about the history of cricket, "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" is played over the opening credits. The episode details the history of Australian cricket and its rise to dominance.

ITV used the song for the closing montage to their coverage of the 2010 Tour de France. It was the first to be won by an Australian, when BMC's Cadel Evans won the race.

A clip of the song's intro is often used by the Golf Channel before commercial breaks.

The song was used to accompany the promotional video for the 2013 Australian Open Tennis Tournament.

Keith Urban guitarist Brian Nutter often uses the song during his solo section during live performances.

The song is being used by the Chicago Cubs in 2017 as an accompaniment to a video played just prior to the team taking the field.

The original version of the song is played on the PA track list prior to Metallica live performances. As soon as the song concludes, the lights go out and "The Ecstasy of Gold" is played while Metallica appears on stage.

On October 1, 2004, Melbourne, Australia's Corporation Lane was officially renamed "ACDC Lane" in honour of the band (street names in the City of Melbourne cannot contain the "/" character or other punctuation marks). This change was made in part because the music video for "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" was filmed on Melbourne's Swanston Street, near ACDC Lane. The Melbourne City Council's vote to rename the street was unanimous.[17] Bagpipers played "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" at the official renaming ceremony.[3]

Performed by:

• Jack Black and the cast of School of Rock - Original soundtrack (2003)
• Pat Boone - In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy (1997)
• Dead Moon - Destination X (1999)
• Die Krupps - Covered In Black: An Industrial Tribute to the Kings of High Voltage (tribute compilation) (1997)
• Dropkick Murphys - The Singles Collection, Vol. 2 (2005)
• Electric - A Tribute to AC/DC (2006)
• John Farnham - b-side to Two Strong Hearts (1988)
• John Farnham and Tom Jones - Together in Concert (2005)
• Iced Earth - Tribute to the Gods (2002)
• Lemmy - Cover Me in '80s Metal (Fantastic Price Records, 2006)
• Local H - Pack Up the Cats B-Side. Features Brendan O'Brien playing the bagpipe parts on a hurdy-gurdy.
• The Meanies - Fuse Box – An Alternative Tribute (1995)
• The Melbourne Ukulele Kollective - ABC-TV's Spicks and Specks (2006)
• Motörhead - Thunderbolt: A Tribute to AC/DC (1998)
• Nantucket - Long Way to the Top (1980)
• Scarlett Pomers - A Millennium Tribute to AC/DC (2010)
• Rawkus - AC/DC: Hometown Tribute (2002)
• Sandra Weckert - Bar Jazz (2003)
• Lucinda Williams - Little Honey (2008)
• Eric Fish - Gegen den Strom (2007, as Ein langer Weg in German)
• W.A.S.P.
• Billy Thorpe and the cast of Long Way To The Top - Long Way To The Top Live In Concert (2002)

The song was covered during the credit sequence of the comedy movie School of Rock, performed by Jack Black and the class of children he taught while masquerading as a teacher. However, the children ad-libbed their own lyrics towards the end of the song.

Billy Corgan covered the song live as an encore on almost every show during his 2005 tour supporting his debut solo effort TheFutureEmbrace.

A dramatic re-interpretation was released by Norwegian duo Susanna and the Magical Orchestra (aka Susanna Wallumrød and Morten Qvenild) in late summer 2006 on their second album Melody Mountain, which consists entirely of cover versions. Their style is slow and melancholic with only cembalo accompaniment to Wallumrød's pure vocal, and brings out the essential sadness of the song.

The band Hanson performed this song during some of the shows on the "Walk around the World" tour, often inviting the opening acts back on stage to sing together.

Melbourne Ukulele Kollective frequently play the song live, the most notable performances being during ABC-TV's Spicks and Specks in 2004;[18] and during the Australia Day flag-raising ceremony and people's march in 2009.

German Medieval Metal Band In Extremo played the song on their Tranquilo-Acoustic Tour in 2009 on German Bagpipes.

On the 34th anniversary of the filming of the music video, it was recreated as part of the SLAM (Save Live Australian Music) rally, to protest liquor licensing laws which threaten live music. About ten thousand protesters marched down Swanston Street and up Bourke Street to the Victorian Parliament House, accompanied by the RocKwiz band on a flatbed truck playing the song.