'Back in Black' Is AC/DC's Tribute to Singer Bon Scott
- edgarstreetbooks
- Dec 27, 2025
- 2 min read
‘200 Greatest 80s Rock Songs’ Book Excerpt
Frank Mastropolo
“Back in Black” is the title cut of AC/DC’s 1980 album, one of the best-selling LPs in history. “Back in Black” is a tribute to lead singer Bon Scott, who died suddenly in February 1980 at age 33. The song was primarily written by Brian Johnson, Scott’s replacement, and credited to co-writers Angus and Malcolm Young. In 1981, “Back in Black” reached №37.
“I remember ‘Back in Black’ was particularly difficult because the boys were saying, ‘Listen, we want this song in memory of Bon,’” Johnson said in an archive video released by the band, “but we don’t want it to be sad or maudlin, we want it to be a good thing, positive song.
“So it was pretty tough, but I think we managed it pretty good. It’s kinda slow but it’s got a great riff. It was a toughie, that one.
“The guys wanted it to be a good rock record in memory of Bon but without all the slather, without all the mulch and the crap that usually goes with that. They wanted the album to be black and I filled it with lines like ‘Nine lives, cat’s eyes’ because Bon had lived on the edge for a long time and he’d always made it through.”
Johnson’s vocals surprised even himself. “‘Back In Black’ came, which was fascinating, because I never knew that I could sustain notes like that,” Johnson told WMMR.
“That was Mutt Lange, the producer, who said, ‘Sing it higher. I’ve heard you do it.’ And I went, ‘Well, I’ll give it a try.’ And it was just like being set free from a straitjacket — once I found out I could do it, I went, ‘Wow!’
“And I just wanted to do it all the time. But he had to keep pulling us back down. But it was a wonderful thing to discover that you could do — even at the age of 32.
“To me, I was way past it, and I didn’t think I would ever get a job with a rock and roll band at the age of 32. But it was the age of Bon when he passed. And it just kept getting better as the weeks went by with these new songs.”
Frank Mastropolo is the author of 200 Greatest 80s Rock Songs and Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.
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