Published Feb 17, 2026, 12:55 PM EST
Lacey Cohen is a lifelong student, writer, editor, music fanatic, and massive advocate for the Oxford Comma. She has been playing guitar for 16 years, boasts a 13-year-old Spotify library complete with playlists for just about any mood, and is well-versed in the language of nearly every genre of music. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in English and a minor in gender and health, and she graduated from Long Island University with an MFA in creative writing and publishing with a focus in prose writing. Lacey is currently based in Brooklyn, but she is a true and proud Michigander at heart.
Classic rock is a genre defined by any number of bands from the 1960s and 1970s, and given the spectrum of time that the genre covers, it also spans quite a range of sounds, too. Unlike many other rock music subgenres, classic rock acts are more closely linked to one another by the time period in which they rose to fame rather than their overall sound.
The genre was pioneered primarily by artists like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, and the Doors in the mid to late '60s, with hints of blues, psychedelia, and even what we consider today to be pop. By the time the '70s rolled around, bands began experimenting more and more with harder sounds, utilizing electronic instruments, and generally just evolving with the times.
In 1975, one of the most prolific classic rock bands of all time released their debut album in their home country of Australia, and helped to usher in a whole new era of what we now know as classic rock. AC/DC's High Voltage became a crucial piece of the classic rock landscape from the moment it was released internationally, and its 51-year legacy has not wavered an inch.
51 Years Ago Today, High Voltage Launched The Half-Century Long Legacy Of AC/DC
In 1973, brothers Malcolm and Angus Young formed AC/DC alongside vocalist Dave Evans. It wasn't long, however, before they realized that Evans may not be the kind of vocalist or frontman that they were looking for. On recommendation from a mutual friend, the brothers brought on vocalist Bon Scott, and the rest was history.
High Voltage was released in Australia and New Zealand on February 17, 1975, hardly a year and a half after the band's formation. The Australian release was rather young and a bit unpolished, and as a result, the initial release has never been remastered or reissued anywhere, but it was clear that there was something special in this album.
Upon its international release roughly one year later, AC/DC's High Voltage went double platinum in Canada, and quadruple platinum in the US. The new release was a combination of songs from the initial High Voltage and their second Australian release, T.N.T., including their first top ten hit in Australia, "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" and one of the greatest hard rock tracks of the decade, "T.N.T."
51 years after its initial debut, and especially within that first year, High Voltage has evolved quite a bit. However, even with that changing legacy, the depth of its impact hasn't budged at all. AC/DC remain one of the most prolific classic rock bands of all time, and High Voltage has always been the first and lasting indication of their greatness.
English (US) ·