I should probably start this off with a sort of a disclaimer. Firstly, I am not expert on this nor am I affiliated with AC/DC. This is mere speculation and opinion. However, it is quite an interesting topic in the world of AC/DC since there are many fans who often wonder about this. But, for those who are not as familiar with the subject, let's start by setting the scene of the story.
In February of 1980, the lead singer of AC/DC Bon Scott passed away. He was one of the core parts of the band and played a large role in the band's songwriting process and performances. Bon Scott was the front man for AC/DC along with Angus Young and had quite a large following. However, he was also a very stereotypical Rockstar as he spent much of his time doing drugs, partying, and living a fast lifestyle. This eventually would be what lead to his death in 1980.
He passed away after a long night of drinking when he curled up in the back of his car to sleep. In his sleep he choked on his own vomit and passed away. This lead to a sort of crisis for AC/DC as they had to decide what to do without Bon Scott there to write music. The band then went on a search for a new front man. They had a good amount of candidates try out before eventually they landed on Brain Johnson who became the new lead singer for AC/DC.
Many people at first though that this was the end of AC/DC and that their careers would die with Bon. However, in 1980, about 5 months after Bon Scott passed, AC/DC released Back In Black. Back in Black was AC/DC's biggest album, selling platinum multiple times and selling out show after show. One thing that always seemed strange about the album though was that the writing and recording process was always kept very secret. To add to that, Brian Johnson, the new front man, was not credited with any of the song-writing credits. Finally, many of the songs were in Bon's signature style.
These strange inconsistencies and the weird secrecy lead fans to wonder if Bon Scott had actually written the lyrics for Back In Black but was not credited. So, many different fans dove into it to try to figure out what had actually happened there. In this article, I am going to give you my take on who most likely wrote the lyrics for the Back in Black album.
The first thing that you have to take into consideration is the timeline. Bon died only 5 months before the release of Back in Black. This is one of the main things that makes the whole situation so suspicious because this begs the question, did they really write, record, and master and entire album in a little over 5 months? That seems like quite a short time to have done that especially while the band was still looking for a new front man.
However, that is still enough time to write a good amount of music. So let's look at some other facts. Another thing that is quite important in this situation is something that many people don't think about. In bands like Led Zeppelin, the front man was usually the one writing all the lyrics. But, if you dig a little deeper, you will realize that regardless of the singer, Malcolm and Angus's names are on almost every single song that AC/DC wrote. So, it is probably safe to assume that they didn't just write the music but also wrote some of the lyrics.
There are a few other things that are also important in this situation though. In the AC/DC Bon Scott book, the Scott family said that royalties for Back and Black are secretive under contract and therefore they cannot disclose the amount that they are making off of Back in Black. On top of this, Bon's journal went missing shortly after he passed away. This was the journal where he kept all the song ideas that he was working on.
So now, let's objectively look at this and see what we think. My personal opinion is that Bon wrote some of the tracks. Now, I am not going to discount the talent and hard work of the other members of the band, as I am sure they are capable musicians and did much of the work themselves. But I do believe that some of the material was most likely used from Bon. Otherwise, there would be no reason for Bon's family to be getting royalties!
However, we do know that Bon didn't write every song on Back in Black. The main and namesake track on the album, the song 'Back in Black', is actually a tribute to Bon. Most of the lyrics talk about Bon's passing and the way that everyone feels about it. So, it is probably pretty unlikely that Bon Scott wrote his own tribute song. However, it is still very possible that some of the other tracks feature Bon's lyrics or melodies.
In the end, we will never know for sure because of the secrecy that surrounds it. Bon's name was never listed on any of the Back in Black songs and, once he passed away, everything was kept very quiet around the subject of his lost lyrics. Unless the band or someone close to the band comes out and tells us what really happened, this may continue to be a mystery forever!
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