The Day Brian Johnson Joined AC/DC
. By 1977, the group had made the final tweak to their lineup, replacing bassist Mark Evans with Cliff Williams, who also joined guitarist Malcolm Young on backing vocals. Of Evans' departure, the CEO of Epic Records�who'd worked as a booking agent for the band during the mid-'70s�later remarked that he knew Mark wasn't going to last because "�he was just too much of a nice guy." With the last piece of the puzzle in place, the group released the powerhouse live recording, Let There Be Rock, which showcased the AC/DC's frenetic stage act. The group launched their first U.S. tour that year, as well, brutalizing U.S. audiences with Angus Young's guitar pyrotechnics over the band's unstoppable backbeat. 1978 saw the release of Powerage, which marked Williams' recording debut with AC/DC. The album spawned the #24 hit "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" and, itself, went to #26 on the U.K. album charts. With their career trajectory shooting skyward, the band brought in legendary producer Robert "Mutt" Lange for the Highway to Hell sessions. Released in 1979, Highway to Hell became AC/DC's first album to crack the top 100 in America, eventually landing at #17. The album was the perfect combination of the Young brothers' rocket-fueled Berry riffs, the propulsive rhythm section of Williams and drummer Phil Rudd, and on top of it all, the lecherous howl of frontman Bon Scott. The group was riding a new high when 1980 rolled around. But soon after beginning work on their seventh album, tragedy struck. On February 19, 1980, Scott passed out in his car after a night of heavy drinking at London's Music Machine club. The next morning, Scott's friend, Alistair Kinnear, who'd left Scott the previous evening passed out in the car, went out to find the singer still in the car and unconscious. Kinnear rushed him to King's College Hospital in Camberwell, where he was pronounced dead. Beyond the human tragedy of a talented life cut short, Scott's death also halted a group on a seemly unstoppable roll. After a steady seven-year climb from the Australian club circuit to the verge of worldwide megastardom, AC/DC suddenly faced serious doubts about whether they had any future at all. They even considered folding up shop and quitting altogether. After much deliberation, though, the remaining members of AC/DC decided to soldier on, believing it's what Scott would have wanted. A number of replacement singers were considered, including ex-Moxy member Buzz Shearman, Terry Slesser of Back Street Crawler and Slade's Noddy Holder. Then there was a bloke named Brian Johnson, who fronted the band Geordie� more on this story Gibson.com is an official news provider for the antiMusic.com.
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