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AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, //[|High Voltage]//, in 1975. Membership remained stable until bassist [|Mark Evans] was replaced by [|Cliff Williams] in 1977. The band recorded their highly successful album //[|Highway to Hell]// in 1979. Lead singer and co-songwriter [|Bon Scott] died on 19 February 1980, after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The group briefly considered disbanding, but soon ex-[|Geordie] singer [|Brian Johnson] was selected to replace Scott. Later that year, the band released their best-selling album, //[|Back in Black]//.
 * AC/DC** are an [|Australian] [|rock band] formed in 1973 by brothers [|Malcolm] and [|Angus Young]. Although the band are commonly classified as [|hard rock] and are considered a pioneer of [|heavy metal],[|]] they have always classified their music as [|rock and roll].

The band's next album, //[|For Those About to Rock We Salute You]//, was their first album to reach number one in the United States. AC/DC declined in popularity soon after drummer [|Phil Rudd] was fired in 1983 and was replaced by future [|Dio] drummer [|Simon Wright], though the band resurged in the early 1990s with the release of //[|The Razor's Edge]//. Phil Rudd returned in 1994 (after [|Chris Slade] was asked to leave in favour of him) and contributed to the band's 1995 album //[|Ballbreaker]//. //[|Stiff Upper Lip]// was released in 2000 and was well received by critics. The band's most recent album, //[|Black Ice]//, was released on 20 October 2008. As of 2008, AC/DC have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide,including 71 million albums in the United States. //Back in Black// has sold an estimated 45 million units worldwide, making it the [|highest-selling album by any band] and the 2nd highest-selling album in history, behind "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. The album has sold 22 million in the US alone, where it is the fifth-highest-selling album. AC/DC ranked fourth on [|VH1]'s list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and was named the seventh "Greatest Heavy Metal Band of All Time" by [|MTV]. In 2004, the band was ranked number 72 in the //[|Rolling Stone]// list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".