It was 39 years ago today (July 25th, 1980), AC/DC released their biggest selling album ever, Back In Black. It was their first album without lead singer Bon Scott, who had died a few months earlier after passing out and choking on his own vomit following a long night of drinking.

The group quickly decided to press on and hired Brian Johnson from the band Geordie to take over on vocals, and they headed to the Bahamas for about six weeks to do the album. AC/DC had made some serious headway in America before Scott’s death, but no one knew how Back In Black would be received. The album took off, and eventually sold over 21 million copies in the U.S.