{"id":191993,"date":"2025-10-11T03:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T03:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/191993\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T03:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T03:50:12","slug":"the-one-song-brian-johnson-wants-ac-dc-to-be-remembered-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/191993\/","title":{"rendered":"The one song Brian Johnson wants AC\/DC to be remembered for"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ACDC<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ Harry (Howard) Potts)<\/p>\n

Fri 10 October 2025 15:53, UK <\/p>\n

Very few bands are so quintessentially representative of classic hard rock as AC\/DC<\/a>. They are to rock \u2018n\u2019 roll what pizza is to Italian cuisine. But it took them a while to cement themselves on that pedestal.<\/p>\n

The Australian group formed in 1973 with Dave Evans front and centre. By 1974, Evans was displaced by Bon Scott, whose bold, infectious vocals would see the band through from their 1975 debut, High Voltage, to the highly acclaimed Highway to Hell in 1979. Yet, they were still largely seen as the support band rather than the headline act.<\/p>\n

Sadly, Highway to Hell would be Scott\u2019s final album with AC\/DC before his death from alcohol poisoning in February 1980<\/a>. As seen with T. Rex, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and countless other bands, it\u2019s often difficult for a group 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the case of AC\/DC, however, after initial hesitation, they decided to continue without Scott in the spring of 1980 after bringing in Brian Johnson as a replacement, someone of whom Scott approved. Apt to the group\u2019s humble beginnings, Johnson had been on the brink of quitting music entirely at the time, lining up a safer future working at a garage instead.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was something about that uncanny disposition that made the whole transition work. It turned the sentiment from a band in mourning looking for a substitute, to a group with a hope and prayer looking to honour their former hero in a manner that he would approve of (thankfully, he already had).<\/p>\n

\"ACDC<\/a>Brian Johnson on stage with AC\/DC. (Credits: Raph Pour-Hashemi)<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the first time I had ever heard Brian\u2019s name was from Bon,\u201d guitarist Angus Young recalled in an interview with BraveWords. \u201cBon 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 \u2018Brian Johnson, he was a great rock and roll singer in the style of Little Richard.\u2019 And that was Bon\u2019s big idol, Little Richard. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think when he saw Brian at that time, to Bon, it was, \u2018Well, he\u2019s a guy that knows what rock and roll is all about.\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Johnson\u2019s recruitment, AC\/DC managed to maintain the momentum of Highway to Hell against all odds when recording the follow-up, Back in Black<\/a>, in 1980. Johnson managed to maintain Scott\u2019s arresting live presence and brought the band to new heights of success over the early 1980s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back in Black is known best for its title track, but on several occasions, Johnson has revealed that \u2018You Shook Me All Night Long\u2019 was his favourite AC\/DC track. After all, it was the very first he recorded with the band. And it not only set the electrifying tone for the group, but it also earmarked their earnest defiance. Because of this mix, Johnson has remained proud of it ever since, singling it out as a track that encapsulates the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boys had a title,\u201d Johnson recalled in an interview with Absolute Radio. \u201cMalcolm and Angus [Young] said, \u2018Listen, we\u2019ve got this song. It\u2019s called \u2018Shook Me All Night Long.\u2019 That\u2019s what we want the song to be called.\u2019 And if you listen to the chords, [the chorus] just fell into place, so I can\u2019t claim any credit on that thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was as quick as it had to be, which was that night. I guess I had to try and impress somebody,\u201d he happily added. \u201cIt was just a thing that came at the time, and I still think it\u2019s one of the greatest rock and roll riffs I\u2019ve ever heard in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reaffirming \u2018You Shook Me All Night Long\u2019 as a personal favourite in a separate conversation with USA Weekend, Johnson claimed it to be among the greatest rock songs in history. \u201cIt was the first song I wrote with the guys, and it has a special groovy beat that won\u2019t let you go,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has such a special place in my heart, and I still love to sing it onstage. To me, it might be one of the best rock songs ever written \u2013 if I do say so myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The song feels like a fitting defining anthem for the group. Their sound is built on rock \u2018n\u2019 roll purity, and returning from despair for another knees up edifies the eternal, unshakable genre, and the chance for emancipation it provides. <\/p>\n

Watch AC\/DC perform \u2018You Shook Me All Night Long\u2019 live in 1981 below. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Related Topics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Far Out \/ Harry (Howard) Potts) Fri 10 October 2025 15:53, UK Very few bands are so…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[27575,27576,84098,84099,96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-191993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ac-dc","tag-angus-young","tag-bon-scott","tag-brian-johnson","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}