The Bobby Bones Show - Brian Johnson: The lovable lead singer of heavy metal band AC/DC on the thrill of live performance.

Episode Date: January 16, 2023

Brian Johnson is the legendary singer for one of the most iconic rock bands in music history: AC/DC.Their music has been described as hard rock, blues rock and heavy metal and they have sold more than 200 million records worldwide.Brian Johnson their lead singer is the author of the book “The Lives of Brian” which tellsthe colorful story of his career.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hi, I'm Iris Palmer, host of the Against All Odds podcast. Every week, I'm sitting down with exceptional people who have broken barriers even when the odds were stacked against them. Like chef, Victor Villa, of Vias Tacos.

You know the Taquero from the Bad Bunny halftime show? It was great. It was a big moment. It was special. And I felt like I was really representing my family, you know, my brand, my city. I was representing all taqueros. not only of like, you know, the U.S., but of Mexico and beyond, all the taqueros of the world.

Listen to Against All Odds on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of IHard Media, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic, stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing. Coming up this seasonal Math and Magic, CEO, of Liquid Death Mike Cesario. People think that creative ideas are like these light bulb moments that happen when you're in the shower.

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Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Buzz Night, the host of the Taken a Walk podcast, music history on foot. If you want to keep up with Takenawalk episodes, or if you want to suggest a guest or be a guest, go to takenawoc.com, subscribe to our newsletter, or leave us a comment. We also appreciate if you like this podcast, please follow us on Apple Podcast or Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. leave us a review or share this with a friend. Today we have a treat. We're virtual because this is how we're going to get this member of rock royalty. And we're so excited.

We couldn't miss this opportunity to speak with Brian Johnson, the lead singer of ACDC. Brian is the legendary frontman, and he's the author of the new book, The Lives of Brian, and I'm honored to have him on Taking a Walk. Hello, everybody. Hello, Brian. Is that Buzz?

Yes, sir. I'm so happy to have Rock Royalty here. Oh, fuck. Steady, boy. Oh, Brian, thanks for being on the Taking a Walk podcast. It's a tremendous honor. Oh, honestly, it's my pleasure, me son. Anytime.

So, congratulations on the lives of Brian. I want to talk about that, but I wanted to ask you, take me inside that moment when you're on stage, the lights go down in the stadium, the music begins, the band starts breaking into rock or bust or a thunderstruck or whatever the opener is. What does that moment feel like from your perspective when it's happening? Okay, well, first of all, it's never boring. It's never, you never get used to. Every nerve moving in me, you know, I'm limbering up, getting ready. I mean, we go on, just, you know, just when you see football players before they go on the pitch,

you know, they're jumping around and moving, because, you know, the minute you're going to get on there, you're not going to get a bridge, any ballad. And then you hear the crowd, and then when you do get on audiences, and just give you strength. You just didn't think was there, you know, and off you go. And that's it. That's the end of that. You know, there's no turning back.

And I think what you've got to do is not upset with a singer's when I ask what I do. I said, you go on stage to sing. Otherwise, you know, it's not regular, alternating time, buzz. Oh, I love it. one of the listeners to our podcast, the guy named Dennis from Tennessee outside of Nashville, he asked me to ask you this question. He said, how do you feel when you see young and old generations jamming their ass off to ACDC? Oh, it's fantastic.

I mean, there's not many bands. I can have it. Every day I'll get somebody's in here. There's a photograph of my grandson, and he's two, and he's got an ACDC song, and he's dancing away to some tune or other. And it's just, it makes you feel so good because, you know, some of these tunes are 40-odd years old and to not sound dead, like, that just, you know,

it was the good feeling inside, you know? Oh, it's the soundtrack of our lives, man. My God. So in the book you talk about the influence of little Richard. Talk about the first time you heard. a little Richard to. Well, it was on, you know, I was off school. I had to go to the dentist or something.

And anyway, the television in England then was just awful. You know, there was, and it was on, it came on at noon, and it went off again, came on again at about three, and it was called Watch With Mother. And then they said, and now we're going to have an interlude, because they were very posh, the people on the room. And in this interlude, there's a young chap from America with a new Popsom, young black, little moustache. It just looked like nothing I'd seen before.

My jaw went south and everything else went north. I couldn't believe how brilliant this was. I mean, it really was a revelation. And I said, I want to sing like that. too, you know. And of course, if I didn't, not exist it, and for me and me life, you know, I didn't have a wrecking from a woman's house. Again, please. Just, I'd say, and I'll never forget. That's awesome. What a great story. My God. Yeah. Brian, how special was it to, you know, have to leave the band due to the hearing loss and then to return?

triumphantly in 2020. How special was that for you, my friend? It was more than special. You know, it was, you know, I was 69 or something, when I had to give up, you know, and I thought, hey, listen, you shouldn't complain. I mean, it wasn't gradual. I mean, it just hit me, everything.

You know, these new and do an album, which a good album, too, you know, again with the boys in Holland, And then the pandemic hit. I mean, talk. Well, and when you really come down to it, you really are a choir boy at heart, right? I was here. You know, my mother was Catholic.

See, there you are. We were coming. And the Catholic gave money. You got one shillings and six on the Sunday morning. It was on, and then this guy walked around, and he was throwing water on people, and then had a smoke machine, you know, with the chair. and very entertaining, you know. I didn't know what was going to happen.

And at the end of the... In closing, Brian, I know... I was only an 11-year-old, and I'm thinking, and at the end, it was the only thing that... Oh, Brian, in closing, how important is having a sense of humor being in the business that you're in? Oh, I think it's...

I think it's pretending, the whole thing. You know, you're singing and having, you know, having that talent to be a singer or drummer and everything. He had a wonderful sense of humor and friendly and always willing to laugh. I would say a bit, you know? Yes. Oh, well, thank you for the sense of humor. Thank you for the joy of the music, Brian.

Congratulations on the lives of Brian. And I'm so grateful that you are on my podcast. Well, thank you very much, that was. You take care and a festive season greetings to everybody. Taking a walk with Buzz Night is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Iris Palmer, host of the Against All Odds podcast. Every week, I'm sitting down with exceptional people who have broken barriers even when the odds were stacked against them. Like chef Victor Villa of Villas Tacos.

You know the taquero from the Bad Bunny halftime show? It was great. It was a big moment. It was special. And I felt like I was really representing my family, you know, my brand, my city. I was representing all taqueros, not only of like, you know, the U.S., but of Mexico and beyond. All the taqueros of the world. Listen to Against All Odds on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of IHeart Media, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic, stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds and marketing. Coming up this seasonal Math and Magic, CEO of Liquid Death Mike Sessario. People think that creative ideas are like these lightbulb moments that happen when you're in the shower. It's really like a stone sculpture. You're constantly just chipping away and refining. Take two interactive CEO, Strauss Selnick, and our own chief business officer, Lisa Coffey.

Listen to Math and Magic on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and hosts of the podcast, a slight change of plans, a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans. I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long the need to change. We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes. You can have opinions. You can have like a strong stance.

And then there's your body having its own program. Listen to a slight change of plans on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Financial Literacy Month, and the podcast Eating While Broke is bringing real conversations about money, growth, and building your future. This month, hear from top streamer Zoe Spencer and venture capitalist Lakeisha Landrum Pierre as they share their journeys from starting out to leveling up. There's an economic component to communities thriving. If there's not enough money and entrepreneurship happening in communities, they failed. Listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.