AC/DC: “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” (1976) | The Cry of the Thunder Chief

Kronomyth 3.5: Another mondegreen.

When I first heard this song on the radio as a kid, I thought the chorus was “dirty deeds and the thunder chief.” I didn’t know who the thunder chief was any more than I knew who Father Tia was (from Aerosmith’s “Dream On”), but they became part of a broader pantheon of mystical mondegreens who occupied my waking hours. (A mondegreen, for the spinning record, is a misheard lyric.) Maybe it inspired the later “Thunderstruck,” who knows… Anyway, great song from a great album that included another great song, “Big Balls,” which was pressed into service on the UK single to sweeten the whole schweddy deal, with “The Jack” from High Voltage rounding out the salacious single. In Australia, natives got “Rock in Peace” for the flip side (i.e., jack squat). There’s some difference in the track times between the Australian and international versions of “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” as well as some remixing if memory serves (although the two versions sound nearly identical to me). In 1990, Joan Jett did a completely unnecessary remake of this song that adds nothing to AC/DC‘s original except a can of hair spray.

The Product

A1. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Angus Young/Bon Scott/Malcolm Young) (4:07)
B1. R.I.P. (Rock in Peace) (Angus Young/Bon Scott/Malcolm Young) (3:34)

UK 7-inch single version
A1. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Angus Young/Malcolm Young/Bon Scott) (3:46)
A2. Big Balls (Angus Young/Malcolm Young/Bon Scott) (2:39)
B1. The Jack (Angus Young/Malcolm Young/Bon Scott) (5:50)

Atlantic Oldies Series 7-inch single reissue
A1. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Angus Young/Malcolm Young/Bon Scott) (3:52)
B1. Highway to Hell (Angus Young/Malcolm Young/Bon Scott) (3:26)

The Plastic

Released on 7-inch single in October 1976 in Australia (Albert, AP-11265) and the UK (Atlantic, K 10899).

1. Re-issued in June 1980 in the UK (Atlantic, HM 2) with picture sleeve. Reached #47 on the UK charts (charted on June 28, 1980 for 3 weeks).
2. Re-issued w. “Highway to Hell” on back-to-back hits 7-inch single in the US (Atlantic Oldies Series, 7-84989).