AC/DC – Dirty Deeds

AC/DC Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap with Bon on Countdown, Melbourne Australia 1976.

“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” is the title track and first track of their album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.

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 Done Dirt Cheap 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. It features a backing vocal consisting of a heavy breathing sound, made on the downbeat during verses. It also features the title in a spoken-word style at the end of the chorus; plus a scream at the end of the song. The full length recording (approximately 4:11) has the title of the song chanted four times starting at 3:09, but on the more common edited version (approximately 3:51) the chant is heard only twice.

The song’s narrator invites people experiencing problems to either call him on 36-24-36, an actual phone number in Australia at the time, or visit him at his home, at which point he will perform assorted unsavoury acts to resolve said problems. Situations in which he offers assistance include those involving lewd high school headmasters and significant others who are either adulterous or who persistently find fault with their partners. As detailed by the song, the “dirty deeds” performed at low cost include:
Concrete shoes, Cyanide, TNT, Neckties, Contracts, High voltage. Two of the services offered share names with AC/DC’s first two Australian albums, T.N.T. and High Voltage. They are also the names of songs that appeared on Australia’s T.N.T. and the international version of High Voltage. Additionally, the six digits of the telephone number provided by the speaker are the idealized “perfect measurements” of a woman (36″–24″–36″ (91 –61 –91 cm)).

The phrase “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” is a homage to the cartoon Beany and Cecil, which Angus Young watched when he was a child. One of the cartoon’s characters was named Dishonest John, who carried a business card that read: “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Holidays, Sundays, and Special Rates.”

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 what to his clients sounded like an “8,” thus creating the couple’s phone number.
Edited Extracts from Wikipedia®