Brian Johnson of AC/DC picks out his favourite driving songs
Very few bands are so emblematic of the heavy rock genre as AC/DC. The Australian group set out in 1973 with Dave Evans front and centre. By 1974, Evans was displaced by Bon Scott, whose bold quaking vocals would see the band through from their 1975 debut, High Voltage, to the highly acclaimed Highway to Hell in 1979.
Sadly, Highway to Hell would be Scott’s final album with AC/DC before his death from acute alcohol poisoning in Dulwich, London, in February 1980. As seen with T. Rex, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and countless others, bands often find it difficult to carry on past the death of integral members. When bands do decide to push on with a key member missing, it will often result in a decline in fan support, creativity and morale.
In the case of AC/DC, however, after initial hesitation, they decided to continue without Scott in the spring of 1980, ushering in Brian Johnson as a highly capable replacement, someone Scott greatly admired.
“I remember the first time I had ever heard Brian’s name was from Bon,” guitarist Angus Young recalled in an interview with BraveWords. “Bon had mentioned that he had been in England once touring with a band, and he had mentioned that Brian had been in a band called Geordie and Bon had said ‘Brian Johnson, he was a great rock and roll singer in the style of Little Richard.’ And that was Bon’s big idol, Little Richard. I think when he saw Brian at that time, to Bon, it was, ‘Well, he’s a guy that knows what rock and roll is all about.’ He mentioned that to us in Australia. I suppose when we decided to continue, Brian was the first name that Malcolm and myself came up with, so we said we should see if we can find him.”
With Johnson’s recruitment, AC/DC somehow managed to maintain the momentum of Highway to Hell when releasing their blockbusting seventh album, Back in Black, in 1980. Johnson managed to maintain the live presence of Scott and brought the band to new heights of success over the 1980s.
Back in 2014, Johnson discussed his affection for locomotion and tarmac in a short residency writing for The Sunday Times. As the iconic singer stood in for then-Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson for the newspaper’s motoring section, he discussed his TV series Cars That Rock and picked out 11 songs perfect for hitting the road.
Classic rock and roll has long been seen as the perfect soundtrack for the open road, with AC/DC’s oeuvre making frequent visits to Route 66-themed movie soundtracks. As Johnson listed his top driving tracks, he somehow showed his taste to be more apt for the highway than that of the music supervisor for Wild Hogs. See the full list below.
A selection of Brian Johnson’s favourite driving songs
- War – ‘Lowrider’
- ZZ Top – ‘La Grange’
- The Who – ‘Magic Bus’
- Led Zeppelin – ‘Whole Lotta Love’
- George Thorogood – ‘Bad To The Bone’
- Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen – ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’
- Them – ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’
- Don McLean – ‘American Pie’
- Status Quo – ‘Down Down’
- The Rolling Stones – ‘Start Me Up’
- Quiet Riot – ‘Highway To Hell’
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