On this day (February 19) in 1980, the rock and roll world lost a legend when AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott (born Ronald Belford Scott) died at the age of 33. Scott is hailed as one of the greatest rock frontmen in history and his distinct vocals and songwriting paved the way for the iconic Australian rock band.
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Scott was not AC/DC’s original vocalist. However, he was the first that many fans in Australia and New Zealand heard when the band released their debut album High Voltage. Before he joined the band, he was their roadie. Then, in September 1974, he took his place behind the microphone. A few years later, his voice would become the Australian rockers’ trademark.
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The band released their first two albums–High Voltage and T.N.T.–exclusively in Australia and New Zealand in 1975. Then, they compiled songs from their first two discs for an international version of High Voltage the next year. With that release, AC/DC introduced Scott to the world. Scott was with the band until he died, with the last album he sang on being Highway to Hell (1979). However, fans in the United States would hear his voice again two years later on Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. In the States, Dirty Deeds dropped after Back in Black which was the band’s first album with new vocalist Brian Johnson and a tribute to Scott.
The Death of AC/DC Frontman Bon Scott
Before his days with AC/DC, Bon Scott liked to party. When the band started its rise to fame, he began to take things to the extreme. He regularly drank heavily and may have used hard drugs. This was the case on the evening of February 18, 1980.
According to Louder Sound, Scott and a friend of his ex-girlfriend named Alistair Kinnear attended a concert at The Music Machine in London that evening. “I met up with Bon to go to the Music Machine but he was pretty drunk when I picked him up,” Kinnear recalled of his evening with Scott. “When we got there, he was drinking four whiskeys straight in a glass at a time,” he added.
Later that night, Kinnear drove Scott to his flat in Victoria. However, the singer was passed out in the passenger seat. Failing to rouse Scott, Kinnear drove home to 67 Overhill Road, East Dulwich, London. There, he covered the still-unconscious Scott with a blanket, left him a note with directions to Kinnear’s flat, and went inside. The next day, he found Scott’s body in his car.
“He could not find a comfortable position in the small car,” author Clinton Walker wrote in his book about Scott. “His body was curled around the gearstick, his neck twisted, his dental plate dislodged. The bile rose up in his throat and blocked his asthmatic windpipe,” Walker added.
Scott’s death sent shockwaves through the rock and roll world and he remains an inspirational figure more than 40 years after his tragic and untimely death.
Featured Image by Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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