AC/DC’s Brian Johnson picks his dream supergroup
AC/DC leader Brian Johnson is the archetypal rock ‘n’ roll frontman, and if it were up to him, he’d have a band full of vocalists. Since forming his first group, the Jasper Hart Band, his voice has taken him to places that Johnson could have never imagined.
During his TV series, Brian Johnson: A Life On The Road, the AC/DC rocker made a wealth of fascinating revelations. The programme has seen him conversing with musical royalty, including Lars Ulrich from Metallica, The Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, Sting, Roger Daltrey, and former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant.
Following his episode with Walsh, the AC/DC vocalist repaid the favour by appearing on the American musician’s Old Fashioned Rock’ N’ Roll Radio Show. Their conversation was a revealing one, and at one point, the dynamic duo started dreaming up a supergroup together. It began when Walsh said, “I’m not gonna go there, but maybe we should start a band.” In response, Johnson revealed his dream group, which included The Eagles guitarist. He replied: “Aw, Joe, that would be good. Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, we’d get all the boys. We can sing rock ‘n’ roll harmonies. The Three Rock Singers: That would be pretty good, wouldn’t it?”
Both Plant and Daltrey have also appeared on Johnson’s television programme, which is a mark of the respect that flows between them all. The episode with Plant was particularly illuminating, as he opened up about the early influences of Led Zeppelin and the detachment he now feels towards the band.
“Cream, the Grateful Dead, the white blues thing was kicking in,” Plant explained to Johnson. “And you had that great West Coast thing going on with Jefferson Airplane and stuff. You had a subculture develop, and we kind of attached ourselves to that. We didn’t have any social statements to make. We weren’t visionaries, in that sense. But we were, still by our age, at the time, still part of that huge movement of energy.”
“I can’t hardly remember any of it at all,” Plant honestly confessed when they discussed the Zeppelin classic ‘Immigrant Song’. Also, he jokingly offered Johnson his role in the band and said: “If you want a job now I can put a good word in for ya!”
Undoubtedly, a supergroup featuring Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Brian Johnson, and Joe Walsh during their pomp would have been a spectacle. However, now that all the men are in their autumnal years, it’s best to use our imaginations rather than demand it become a reality.
