With the release of his recent autobiography, “The Lives of Brian,” AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has been asked about persistent rumors that Bon Scott had some sort of involvement in writing lyrics for the band’s biggest selling album, “Back In Black.”
Johnson wrote in the book: “Let’s put some ‘Back In Black’ rumors to bed, shall we?” Johnson wrote. “The conspiracy theorists are legion. The truth is it was me at the end of the pen writing on a legal pad, with nothing more than a title given by Malcolm and Angus. That’s what happened, that’s the truth, now live with it.”
It has also been rumored that Scott’s family receives royalties to this day for the album, which is the second-highest selling album in music history behind Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
In a new interview with Metal Edge, Johnson addressed the topic and denied the Scott family gets a cut of “Back In Black” money.
“No, no,” Johnson said. “Bon’s family receives royalties from the stuff he’s done – I’m sure. They’ll have an estate, most people do afterwards if they die and there’s still money coming in from that period of their work. That would be right. That’s the right and proper thing. But I don’t think so…I know so, ‘cause I get them [Back in Black royalties]. [laughs] There’s the simple answer.”
Johnson was again asked about the lyric rumors.
“… There’s this guy in Australia, who was absolutely positive that Bon had written the lyrics,” Johnson said. “And he wouldn’t shut up and he wouldn’t go away and he was even to the point of phoning Derek, Bon’s brother, and he’s a lovely guy and all that and he was sick of this guy as well.”
Johnson might be referring to author Jesse Fink, who wrote two AC/DC books, “The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC,” and “Bon: The Last Highway.”
“I won’t say his name, ‘cause it’s not worth mentioning it,” Johnson continued. “He was saying that Bon had written the words and that I had claimed them. Now, in the real world, that just doesn’t happen. First of all, the boys in the band would’ve given me them to sing, and they would’ve put his name on there – it’s simple as that, it’s a simple thing. And it was proved, beyond any shadow of a doubt, you know, but this guy just kept pestering people. ‘You sure you haven’t gotten any lyrics somewhere that Bon had written that we can prove?’ And he’s becoming a pest, and Derek was saying that this guy still tries to phone him. He wants to make a movie of Bon’s life and of course the family absolutely forbid it, with the privacy and all. One day they might, who knows. But I don’t know – it’s not my place to say.”
“Now that man’s getting older and he knows his time’s coming up…and he can’t keep on saying it, he’s just gonna look foolish. There’s too many people who were there, you know, that saw what happened and I just felt…I just felt I had to say somethin’. I wasn’t going to because I’m not gonna let this guy think it’s bothering me. But the truth was, it did bother me in a way. ‘Why would he do that?’ Then, of course, he’s one of these conspiracy theorists – you know what I mean – they’re always there. I just said, let me put a full stop on this. I’ll just put a full stop on this and just say, ‘That’s enough.’”
Fink had previously responded to Johnson’s passage in his autobiography calling it “bullsh*t.”
“The Brian Johnson book. Bullsh*t,” Fink wrote. “If that is so why did Angus Young admit some of Bon’s lyrics are on the album? Why did a member of Scott’s family confirm the Scott family got royalties for ‘Back In Black?’”
Fink continued: “I did my own investigation into the issue of the lyrics in my book ‘Bon: The Last Highway.’ Fans are capable of listening to the lyrics on that record and know there is night and day between what appeared on that record and every AC/DC record since. They’re not conspiracy theorists at all, but they have ears and they’re puzzled, like I am, when Angus Young goes on the record in interviews and says things like this.”
Fink then referenced an interview guitarist Angus Young gave to Paul Elliott of Kerrang in 1991 when the AC/DC co-founder said “Bon wrote a little of the stuff.”
- Wallflowers Frontman Blasts John Mellencamp On Stage - April 18, 2024
- AEW Star Was Encouraged To Ask WWE For A Tryout - April 17, 2024
- Metallica’s James Hetfield Put Lemmy’s Ashes To Use In Touching Tribute - April 17, 2024
