Few bands are strong enough to survive the departure or death of their singer, especially if that singer is as powerful and instrumental to the group’s sound as Bon Scott was to AC/DC. After joining the ranks of the hard rock icons in 1974, Scott helped to establish the group among the greatest rock and roll outfits of the era. So, when he tragically passed away as a result of alcohol poisoning in 1980, AC/DC were left with the unenviable dilemma of whether to keep going or throw in the towel.
After going through a list of potential successors for Bon Scott, AC/DC came upon the English vocalist Brian Johnson. With Johnson, the Australian group was able to maintain their dominance over the global hard rock scene. The vocalist is somewhat polarizing among fans of the group, with many preferring Bon Scott’s distinct tones. Nonetheless, Johnson was critical in keeping the band together, and they never lost their love and admiration for Scott.
Of course, replacing Scott was by no means an easy task. Scott’s last effort with the band before his untimely death was Highway to Hell, which is arguably the greatest album from AC/DC’s extensive discography. The brilliance of the record was always going to be difficult to follow-up on, made especially worse by the introduction of an entirely new frontman in Brian Johnson. From the very first bars of Johnson’s first album, Back in Black, however, any doubts over the vocalist’s credentials were immediately quelled.
On the opening track of the record, the single ‘Hells Bells’, the new era of the band paid heartfelt tribute to their fallen comrade. The entire Back in Black album, in essence, is a tribute to their friend and former bandmate Bon Scott, but ‘Hells Bells’ is particularly explicit in its homage to Scott. Beginning with a slow, sombre bell toll, which is gradually drowned out by Angus Young’s iconic guitar riff.
