AC/DC Red Lightening Bolt

Capitalized white text and a red and black lightning bolt on a black background.  

AC/DC are an Australian hard-rock band founded by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young in 1973. Although they classify themselves as a rock and roll band they are often considered to be pioneers of the heavy metal genre. The band has had some changes in personnel throughout its career, but brothers Angus and Malcolm Young have been constant members throughout the band’s career. The band’s name came about when Angus and Malcolm’s sister, Margaret, saw the letters AC/DC on the side of a sewing machine. The letters stood for “alternating current/direct current,” referring to electricity. AC/DC really started to make it when they signed on with Atlantic Records for an International deal. After signing with Atlantic, the band’s logo was then designed by Gerard Huerta, the then art director at Atlantic Records, in 1977. The band continues to be successful and is, at present, one of the highest grossing bands of all time and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March of 2003. Some of the most well-known albums created by AC/DC are: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976), Highway to Hell (1979), Back in Black (1980), Stiff Upper Lip (2000), and many others.

The band's logo featuring the recognizable thunderbolt was designed in 1977 by Gerard Huerta who also designed the logos for Pepsi, HBO and Swiss Army Knife among others. The logo first appeared on the international version of the band's fourth studio album, Let There Be Rock.