AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1981)

“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” is a hard rock song by the Australian band AC/DC. Written by group members Angus ...

“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” is a hard rock song by the Australian band AC/DC. Written by group members Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott, it was recorded for the title track of their album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976.

It was also released as a single – first in Australia in October 1976 with “R.I.P. (Rock in Peace)” as its B-side, and then in the UK in January 1977 as a maxi-single with “Big Balls” and “The Jack” as its B-sides. Once the Dirty Deeds album was finally released in the US in 1981 the “Dirty Deeds…” single was released there (backed by “Highway To Hell”), where it reached number four on the then-new Top Tracks chart.

The song ranked No. 24 on VH1’s 40 Greatest Metal Songs and in 2009 it was named the 31st best hard rock song of all time also by VH1.

Controversy

In 1981, Norman and Marilyn White of Libertyville, Illinois filed a $250,000 lawsuit in Lake County, Illinois Circuit Court against Atlantic Records and its distributors because, they alleged, their telephone number was included in the song, resulting in hundreds of prank phone calls. Their attorney told the Chicago Tribune that the song’s 36-24-36 digits were followed by a “hey!”, which to his clients sounded like an “8”, thus creating the couple’s phone number.