Brian Johnson on Rumors Bon Scott Wrote ‘Back In Black’

Brian Johnson touches on many moments in his wild career in his new book The Lives of Brian. One facet, in particular, was the making of Back in Black, the first album he made with AC/DC. For years, there have been rumors late AC/DC singer Bon Scott had written some of the lyrics that are featured in the LP's title track. However, Johnson made sure to address them in his memoir.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Johnson was asked why he felt like he had to take on those rumors. He said, "It wasn’t something that stuck in me craw a lot, but every now and again, a fan would come up and say, 'This guy’s saying this.' And factually, it wasn’t true." Johnson added, "There wasn’t an internet then; it didn’t really get further than Australia. But I thought it was awful I had to explain meself and that’s why in the book, I went, once and for all, I want to put this baby to bed."

Johnson detailed the whole situation further saying, "There was one particular journalist — a writer in Australia — who just wouldn’t let go of this thing. And of course, Malcolm and Angus were like, 'What a f---ing load of bulls---.' And I said, 'I wish you would tell him.' And their attitude was always, 'Just leave it. Just let them talk himself into a f---in’ early grave.' And of course, it became more and more obvious by the day that Bon hadn’t, because the riffs weren’t written then. The boys were still doing it. So we didn’t say anything because otherwise it would have given him more fame."

The Lives of Brian is out now and available for purchase here.

The AC/DC catalog can be split into two parts: The Bon Scott years and the Brian Johnson years. For the sake of our latest list, we're going to focus on the Brian Johnson years.

Johnson was officially announced as the new singer for AC/DC on April 15, 1980. Back then, he faced the daunting challenge of following Scott, who had died suddenly in February 1980 just as AC/DC was enjoying international success from their latest album, Highway to Hell.

Not only did Johnson rise to the occasion, but he also helped lead AC/DC with the release of their monster hit Back In Black, which is one of the highest-selling albums of all time moving over 50 million copies worldwide and 25 million copies in the United States alone.

Over the course of the past four decades, Johnson has become one of rock's most iconic and easily recognizable voices ever. His official return to AC/DC in 2020 after a nearly four-year absence due to hearing loss issues was one of the bright spots in an unprecedentedly dark year.

In his honor, here's our ranking of the top 25 Brian Johnson AC/DC songs.

AC/DC announced in February their new European tour dates. This marks the first tour from the band since 2016.

The "Power Up" tour will kick off on May 17 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany and will wrap on August 17 in Dublin. Currently, it's unknown whether AC/DC will expand their tour to other continents, but stay tuned.

In a brief statement from the band, they confirmed the lineup for the tour. Brian Johnson will be on vocals and joined by Angus and Stevie Young on lead and rhythm guitar, respectively. Matt Laug, who played with the band at Power Trip in October 2023, will be on drums.

As for bass, AC/DC has recruited Chris Chaney "to carry the torch for Cliff [Williams]." Williams retired shortly after the 2016 tour, but he appeared on AC/DC's 2020 album Power Up. Williams also performed at Power Trip with the band.