AC/DC released For Those about to Rock We Salute You

First posted 9/4/2010; updated 9/7/2020.

For Those About to Rock We Salute You AC/DC

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Released: November 23, 1981 Peak: 13 US, 3 UK, -- CN, 3 AU Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, -- UK, 8.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: hard rock/heavy metal

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) For Those about to Rock We Salute You (12/5/81, #15 UK, #4 AR) Put the Finger on You (12/19/81, #38 AR) Let’s Get It Up (12/19/81, #44 US, #13 UK, #9 AR) Inject the Venom Snowballed Evil Walks C.O.D. Breaking the Rules Night of the Long Knives Spellbound Total Running Time: 40:10 The Players: Brian Johnson (vocals) Angus Young (guitar) Malcolm Young (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) Cliff Williams (bass) Phil Rudd (drums)

Rating: 3.500 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings) Quotable: “A record Beavis and Butthead would describe as ‘cool’ – and, as usual, they’d be right.” – Andrew Mueller, Amazon.com

About the Album: “Lesser bands might have been put off their stride by the death of their lead singer, but not AC/DC. No sooner had Bon Scott met his whiskey-sodden end in 1980 than AC/DC recruited a new singer, Brian Johnson – who sounded almost exactly like Scott – and released, in Back in Black, the biggest-selling album of their career.” AM “For Those About to Rock We Salute You is a suitably triumphant follow-up” AM with “some decent material,” SH but it also marks the point when “AC/DC’s hot streak began to draw to a close.” SH While Back in Black was infused with the energy and spirit of paying tribute to Bon Scott, it became apparent on the follow-up that the group really did miss Scott more than it initially indicated.” SH The band “slowed down the tempo frequently, sounding less aggressive and inspired.” SH “Brian Johnson’s lyrics started to seem more calculated and a bit clichéd, lacking Scott’s devil-may-care sense of humor,” SH although they did also show that his “lyrical preoccupations were broadly congruent with those of his predecessor: Let’s Get It Up and Inject the Venom are as subtle as their titles sound.” AM And, of course, no matter how you view the whole album, “the cannon-punctuated title track – the most auspicious marriage of music and artillery since Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture’ – still provides a spectacular finale to AC/DC concerts.” AM In the end, this is no Back in Black, but it “is a record Beavis and Butthead would describe as ‘cool’ – and, as usual, they’d be right.” AM

Resources and Related Links: AC/DC’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry Mutt Lange’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry SH Steve Huey, All Music Guide AM Andrew Mueller, Amazon.com

Olivia Newton-John hits #1 with “Physical” for first of 10 weeks

First posted 10/3/2011; updated 3/11/2021.

Physical Olivia Newton-John

Writer(s): Steve Kipner, Terry Shaddick (see lyrics here) First Charted: October 3, 1981 Peak: 110 US, 18 CB, 19 HR, 2 RR, 29 AC, 28 RB, 7 UK, 16 CN, 15 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.25 UK, 2.65 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 34.2 video, -- streaming

Awards: (Click on award for more details).

About the Song: When Olivia Newton-John took the role of Sandy in 1978’s movie version of Grease, it was clear she was looking to change her clean-cut, “good-girl image,” SF considering her character’s transformation “from virginal to vamp.” BB100 Still, “the longtime girl-next-door singer” BB100 had doubts about releasing “Physical”, SF a song “loaded with sexual innuendo.” BB100 Her managers convinced her the song would be a huge hit. SF Still, lyrics like “There’s nothing left to talk about/ Unless it’s horizontally” got the song banned by some radio stations. At adult contemporary radio the song stalled at #29, but it took off at pop radio. In fact, the controversy probably helped the song toward becoming the biggest hit of 1981 WHC and of Olivia’s career. A Billboard magazine survey even named it the sexiest song of all-time. SF A video heightened the controversy with what was then considered risqué, but would be tame by today’s standards. JA The video played off the aerobics movement of the day, practically becoming the theme song for the exercise trend. SF Olivia worked out in the gym with out-of-shape men who transformed into body-builder physiques. The end of the video, which suggested the men were gay and consequently immune to Olivia’s advances, was often cut when aired on MTV. WK It still picked up the Grammy for Video of the Year. The song also was received by some critics with less than an enthusiastic response. AOL Radio’s Matthew Wilkening said, “An entire generation’s leg-warmered, pastel spandex shame is laid bare in just under four minutes.” WK He ranked it one of the 100 worst songs ever. WK Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Olivia Newton-John BB100 Billboard (9/08). “All-Time Hot 100” JA David A. Jasen. (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 157. WHC Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 110.