It was also released as a single, with a B-side of "Problem Child", in 1977.
Composition
The song provides an encapsulated, fictionalised version of the history of rock 'n' roll. Building on a line from the Chuck Berry song "Roll Over Beethoven": "... tell Tchaikovsky the news", "Let There Be Rock" reveals that Tchaikovsky did in fact receive the message and subsequently shared it with the masses, resulting in the rise of rock 'n' roll.
Following rock's birth, rock bands appeared everywhere, musicians found fame (while businesses made money off their efforts), and millions of people learned how to play electric guitar. The third and final verse speaks of a "42-decibel" rock band playing good, loud music in an establishment called "The Shaking Hand". This is usually changed to "92-decibel" in live versions of the song. After the final verse, the song ends with an extended solo by Angus Young, which consists mainly of tremolo picking, string bends, and hammer-ons.
Live performances of the song often go into a section not included on the studio version, with Angus Young performing an extended solo without accompaniment.
It is the final song played in Let There Be Rock: The Movie and at the immediate conclusion the words "To Bon" appear on the screen. On recent tours, the song has concluded the regular set before the band reappears for encores.
Music video
The Kirk in Surrey Hills, Sydney, the filming location of the music video
The music video for "Let There Be Rock" was filmed in July 1977. It was recorded in the Kirk Gallery church[1] in Surry Hills, New South Wales and featured Bon Scott, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Phil Rudd, and Cliff Williams, who replaced Mark Evans as the band's bassist shortly after the Let There Be Rock album was released. This marked one of Williams' first public appearances with AC/DC. Scott was dressed as a priest and the rest of the band as altar boys, with Angus Young wearing a halo prop on his head. Towards the end of the video it shows Angus, and the rest of the band jamming while he plays the guitar. In an alternate ending of the video, the colors are morphed and the camera zooms in on the stained glass window.[2] According to an interview with the Young brothers, Scott injured himself in the final jump from the podium. In the video and studio recording, Scott also sings the pre-chorus incorrectly, introducing 'sound' before 'light.' This is corrected during live performances of the song.
Critical reception
"Let There Be Rock" is widely considered one of the band's best songs. The Guardian ranked the song number four on its list of the 40 greatest AC/DC songs,[3] and the British rock magazine Kerrang! ranked the song number three on its list of the 20 greatest AC/DC songs.[4]
The British thrash metal band Onslaught released a cover version of this song on their 1987 EP with the same title and again on their 1989 album In Search of Sanity. The In Search of Sanity version peaked at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart.[5]
The Australian punk rock group the Hard-Ons recorded a cover version featuring Henry Rollins on lead vocals, and released it as a single in 1991. The song peaked at number 65 on the ARIA Charts in July 1991.[6]
The Serbian funk rock band Deca Loših Muzičara released a cover version of the song in 1997.[7]
