Released on 21 July 1980, Back in Black was the first AC/DC album recorded without former lead singer Bon Scott, who died on 19 February at the age of 33, and was dedicated to him. The band considered disbanding following his death, but they ultimately decided to continue, with encouragement from Scott's parents, and shortly thereafter hired Brian Johnson as their new lead singer and lyricist. Producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who had previously worked with AC/DC on Highway to Hell, was again brought in to produce. The album was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, and Electric Lady Studios in New York, where the album was also mixed.
As of June 2011, the album has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide, making it tied for second highest-selling album of all time, the highest-selling album by a band (together with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon), the best-selling hard rock album of all-time, and the best-selling album ever released by an Australian musical act. On 13 December 2007, the RIAA certified it 22x multi-platinum, recognizing sales of 22 million in the US, making it the sixth-highest-selling album in the US (fourth-highest at the time).
