Author: uylrjp

Having sold almost 50 million copies, AC/DC’s Back In Black is the biggest rock album in history – but it emerged in the wake of the tragic death of singer Bon Scott. In 2008, guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young plus Bon’s replacement Brian Johnson looked back on the making of a masterpiece.

Mystery surrounds the precise nature of former AC/DC singer Bon Scott’s death to this day. It’s likely we will never know the exact whys and wherefores. But one thing’s for sure: the frontman’s sudden, unexpected end threw the band into turmoil.

Prior to Bon’s demise, the Aussie boogie merchants had been on the verge of a major worldwide breakthrough. They had been plugging away relentlessly since their formation in 1973. Enlisting super-producer Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange to add a commercial sheen to their sound, 1979’s Highway To Hell had been a mammoth success on both sides of the Atlantic: Top 10 in the UK; Top 20 in the States. After six years’ hard slog traversing the globe, starting off in the shitholes and graduating to the stadia, they were poised to reap the benefits.

But then Bon Scott quaffed one tipple too many. On February 19, 1980, he was found dead in a car parked outside a house in South London, where he had been left to sleep off the effects of a heavy night. The official cause of death was put down to acute alcohol poisoning. Bon was 33.

Without their talismanic frontman AC/DC’s career was in danger of being shot down in flames. Guitarist Angus Young went into denial after Bon’s tragic death. The school uniform-wearing tyke had been exceptionally close to the lewd’n’crude crooner, Bon was much older than Angus, and the guitarist had lost a father figure as well as a friend.

“We were heartbroken,” Angus says bluntly. “OK, we knew the world had lost a big talent and our fans were devastated. But we as a band had lost much more. We had lost a person we bonded with in life. Honestly, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves at the time.”

The million-dollar question of finding a replacement singer wasn’t even on the agenda for AC/DC. The pain was too acute, and Bon wasn’t even buried.

Flying back to the UK after Bon’s funeral in Australia, Angus and his rhythm guitar-playing brother Malcolm were approached by Peter Mensch, AC/DC’s manager. Peter had drawn up a shortlist of projected new singers, and he shoved the list under the pair’s noses.

“I couldn’t be bothered,” Malcolm says dismissively. “I waved the list away. It wasn’t fucking right, you know?”

Returning to their adopted home of London, Angus and Malcolm (who, like Bon, were born in Scotland but emigrated to Australia at an early age) sat around and twiddled their thumbs. Time passed. They sat around and twiddled their thumbs some more.

Angus: “Eventually Malcolm called me up and said: ‘Instead of us just sitting around and moping, why don’t we do some work? At least that’ll keep us together.’ So we shut the doors and we didn’t think of record companies, managers, or anything like that. We just hid ourselves away and worked on our songs.”

The exercise proved to be extremely therapeutic. By focusing on their music, Angus and Malcolm were able to distance themselves from the trauma of Bon’s death. Block out the bad stuff and concentrate on their craft.

At this stage Angus and Malcolm still weren’t sure if AC/DC had a future. But in the back of their minds was the encouragement they had received from Bon’s father, Charles (aka Chick), at the funeral.

Angus: “Bon’s dad said to Malcolm and me: ‘You must continue with AC/DC. You’re young guys, you’re on the brink of major success and you can’t afford to give up now.’”

Angus and Malcolm decided to soldier on. It was an archetypal example of triumph over adversity.

“Malcolm and me had started the band and, subconsciously, I suppose, we didn’t want it to end,” Angus admits. “We didn’t want to leave things unfinished. Somehow, we couldn’t bear to turn around and say: ‘That’s it, we’re not going to do it anymore.’”

The news began to seep out: AC/DC were on the hunt for a new frontman. Then the sniping began. Certain factions of the music press criticised Angus and Malcolm for acting with unseemly haste, so soon after Bon’s untimely death.

“We knew we had to confront the question of a new singer,” Angus stresses. “But it wasn’t like we put an advertisement in a music paper that said: ‘AC/DC want a new frontman.’ No, that would have been too over the top. It was subtler than that. People like Bon are unique. They’re special. And we didn’t want someone to come in and copy him. If anything, we wanted someone who was their own character.”

The rumour mill started to grind. Numerous and varied frontmen were queuing up to stake a claim as Bon’s replacement. In the end AC/DC’s choice of new frontman caught everyone on the hop. Step forward a stocky fella in a cloth cap from County Durham in the North-East of England: Brian ‘Beano’ Johnson, singer with 70s glam-rock throwbacks Geordie. Strangely, Bon Scott had an influence on the choice of his successor, even from the grave.

Angus: “We knew Bon was a fan of Brian’s. Bon had seen Brian in England [in 1973] and had been very impressed. Bon was touring with a band he was in before AC/DC called Fraternity, and they opened up for Geordie.”

Brian Johnson – or ‘Jonno’, as he would become known – auditioned for AC/DC on March 29, 1980. Initially, he couldn’t find the rehearsal room where AC/DC were ensconced. The band waited patiently and then went on the lookout for him. They discovered him downstairs playing pool with their roadies.

“It put a little smile on our face,” says Malcolm, “for the first time since Bon.”

Brian put in an impressive performance at his audition, particularly on Whole Lotta Rosie, with lyrics written by Bon to celebrate sexual relations with a rather large woman measuring “42-39-56”.

It was a brave move to tackle a song so intimately associated with Bon. Brian wasn’t convinced he’d done enough to secure the job. Even when AC/DC offered him the position he remained skeptical.

“I remember thinking to myself: ‘Oh Brian, what have you got yourself into?’ I wasn’t scared, though, I was excited. I looked at it, like, well, if I do get fired I can tell me mates I was in AC/DC for a few weeks, and I’d had a nice holiday in London.”

The album that was to become the all- conquering Back In Black was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, at the end of April through to May 1980. Once again Mutt Lange was in the producer’s chair.

“There was a little bit of pressure to it,” Angus remarks, an understatement of major proportions. “A commitment that we had to complete the record by a certain date. But equally, it was a case of… we could’ve gone in and recorded some tracks and said, ‘No, we don’t like them, it doesn’t feel right.’”

When AC/DC’s plane touched down, the Bahamas was in the midst of a tropical storm.

“It was the best place to do that album because there was nothing going on,” Malcolm reveals. “We’d sit through the night with a couple of bottles of rum with coconut milk in, and work. That’s where a lot of the lyric ideas came from.”

The inclement weather inspired the opening lines to Back In Black’s first track, Hell’s Bells: ‘I’m the rolling thunder, the pouring rain/I’m comin’ on like a hurricane.’

But what about the remainder of Back In Black’s material? Angus admits: “A lot of ideas were in place before Brian arrived.”

But Angus vehemently denies the oft-repeated rumour that AC/DC took the majority of the lyrics from a notebook Bon Scott had left behind after his death. “No,” Angus insists, “there was nothing from Bon’s notebook.”

AC/DC polished off Back In Black in about six weeks. Given that working with producer Mutt Lange was – indeed, still is – a notoriously slow, painstaking process, this was something of a result.

Angus: “After Mutt made Highway To Hell he was in big demand, but I thought it was good for him [to record with AC/DC again]. Especially after what had happened to us. It’s to Mutt’s credit that he still wanted to be involved with us after Bon’s death.”

Brian Johnson breathed a big sigh of relief when recording sessions came to an end. “It was a beautiful sunny day and I went outside, got a ciggie out and sat among some trees. I was so happy that I’d done it. But I hadn’t really heard one song. I’d go in and do a couple of verses, pop back and do a chorus. That’s the way Mutt keeps you interested.”

Released in America on July 21, 1980 and in Britain and Europe 10 days later – no advance leaking of tracks via the internet in those long-ago days – Back In Black stormed to No.1 in the UK album chart. Over in the US it reached number 4, and stayed in the chart for an epic 131 weeks.

While being an emphatic celebration of AC/DC’s new line-up, Back In Black also paid tribute to Bon Scott.

“Well, that was the whole idea,” says Angus. “The cover was black and the album began with the sound of a tolling bell.”

To date, Back in Black has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide, making it the second highest-selling album of all time behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Angus: “Those are incredible figures. Mind-boggling. All we’ve ever done, throughout our career, is record stuff we hope our fans will like. Nothing has been premeditated. That’s how we’ve always approached it. We’ve been that way since the beginning.”

What makes Angus so proud about Back In Black today?

“It’s the fact that we were strong enough at the time to keep ourselves together and see our way through a major tragedy.”

Gazing down from heaven or haring along the highway to hell, either way Bon Scott would’ve been proud.

Originally published in Metal Hammer issue 185, October 2008

Advance warning: this paragraph contains a clanging name-drop, apologies. A few years ago, I went on a walk across London with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin for a Q Magazine feature. Martin’s band were putting the finishing touches on their 2015 album A Head Full Of Dreams and he was explaining the importance of it being their seventh record.

First off, he said, the colour spectrum had seven colours in it and so with this being Coldplay’s seventh, he saw it as the end of their first spectrum. I nodded. And then he said that there were so many classic seventh records that he wanted this one to live up to it. I said, “Sorry, what?” “Classic seventh records”, he repeated, and then he reeled a few off. And he was right. I’ve become mildly obsessed with it in the years since, the sort of thing I bore friends in the pub about. This week, I decided I would properly investigate and discovered that there’s loads of them. It’s actually quite weird. I’m sure I’ve missed some so maybe you can get in touch and put me right. Unfortunately, Coldplay’s seventh isn’t in this list. It wasn’t their finest (their eighth was quite good though!) but here are a collection of the seven wonders, the magnificent seven, seventh heaven etc for you to inject into the conversation and bore your friends just like I do…

The Beatles – Revolver

The Fab Four had already established that they were quite good by the time they arrived at Revolver. But this is where things started to get really interesting, introducing psychedelia and studio experimentation into the mix, adding an otherworldly hue to its earthly brilliance.

Radiohead – In Rainbows

The Oxford five-piece had hit a bit of a sticky patch in the mid-00s, 2003’s Hail To The Thief decent but overlong and a subsequent tour leaving Radiohead exhausted. Sessions for In Rainbows were fraught but out of the turmoil they crafted a soulful, rich classic where their analogue art-rock and digital experimentation worked in perfect harmony.

Madonna – Ray Of Light

The queen of pop’s music career needed a boost at the point she approached her seventh album. Enter a collaboration with British electronic producer William Orbit that led to one of the best albums of Madonna‘s career, a swooping dance-pop record shimmying its way between ambient new-age ballads and out and out bangers.

Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Sir Elt’s seventh album contains so many classic singles (the title track, Bennie And The Jets, Candle In The Wind, Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting) that it’s easy to forget what an ambitiously monumental undertaking it was, a conceptual, cinematic double exploring themes of fame, nostalgia and sex. Elton and Bernie Taupin weren’t in Kansas anymore.

Depeche Mode – Violator

Basildon’s synth-pop pioneers had spent the 80s becoming bigger and better with every album and things hit critical mass with their first record of the 90s. The masterful Violator laid down the template for where electro and rock could intertwine, a blueprint a generation of artists would return to repeatedly over the intervening years. It’s Depeche Mode‘s unbeatable peak.

The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet

The Stones were truly coming into their own when they made 1968’s Beggars Banquet, a lean and feisty rock’n’roll record that kicked off an imperial run of albums for Jagger & co.

U2 – Achtung Baby

The Dublin quartet were one of the world’s biggest bands as the 80s became the 90s but U2 required a bold reinvention after the stale, po-faced live album and film Rattle & Hum. Achtung Baby was a makeover alright, fun, playful and chocka with brilliant tunes. Inspired by rave culture, they crafted a moody rock record with dancing feet.

AC/DC – Back In Black

You could say Aussie rock legends AC/DC needed to make a statement on their seventh album and somewhat over-delivered. Their first record after the tragic death of Bon Scott introduced new singer Brian Johnson and, well, you know the rest. A hard-rock classic, its title and colourless cover were a tribute to their fallen comrade.

Sonic Youth – Dirty

With a pair of records at the start of the 90s, Sonic Youth had shown their peers that daring alt-rock could exist on major labels without compromising themselves. The second of those was the impeccably clattering and Butch Vig-produced Dirty, which the NYC noise specialists made a double just to hammer home the point.

R.E.M. – Out Of Time

Their 1988 album Green had made R.E.M. huge but on its follow-up, the Athens, Georgia quartet truly went supernova. Redressing their sound in an alt-country twang, acoustic guitars and a mandolin alongside their well-honed indie-pop jangle paid off big time.

Bruce Springsteen – Born In The U.S.A.

Here’s where The Boss truly showed he had no-one to answer to. Springsteen had already established himself as a supernaturally gifted songwriting talent but here he wrapped his tales of working-class struggle and patriotic unease in indelible, rock-pop anthems. It made him a global superstar.

Bob Dylan – Blonde On Blonde

The final instalment on a trilogy of “rock” records in the wake of his turning electric, Blonde On Blonde captures a generational talent in the purplest of patches. Bob Dylan recorded his definitive statement in just seven days, a double album featuring some of his all-time best songs.

Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

Iron Maiden were the world’s biggest heavy metal band after 1986’s Somewhere In Time but this was not the moment for complacency. Instead they made this, a gloriously out-there concept album originally meant to be about clairvoyance but also featuring a song about Battersea Dogs Home. A crucial chapter in the Maiden story.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication

Funny how many of these classic seventh records are preceded by troubled sixth efforts. The Chili Peppers looked like they’d run out of steam on 1995’s One Hot Minute but here, revitalised by the return of guitarist John Frusciante, they made their masterpiece, its meld of loose-limbed funk-rock, contemplative slow-tempo singalongs and hook upon hook selling by the bucketload.

The Cure  – Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

But then you have some bands for whom their seventh wonder is merely the latest entry in a run of imperial brilliance. That’s where The Cure’s effort falls into. They’d released a Greatest Hits set, 1986’s Standing On A Beach, the year before and if that closed one chapter for Robert Smith’s goth-pop behemoths then this gloriously began another. Its beguiling mix of sprawling, atmospheric epics, wistful pop and anthemic alt-rock would put them on the path to the monster Disintegration, released two years later.

The story of Aerosmith’s rise and fall and continued rebirth depicts one of the great pages of Rock and Roll history. The “Bad Boys from Boston” have never stopped, never even slowed down, even when things weren’t looking so good. Theirs is a story of perseverance and how perseverance pays off. Their story is rich and complicated, but that goes with the territory. Regardless of all the trials and tribulations the band experienced, once they set foot on the stage, their power was undeniable. Everything that makes rock and roll so special, Aerosmith defined on stage night after night.

In the late 1960s, musicians Steven Tyler and Joe Perry played in bands around the Boston area. Tyler was the drummer and backup singer for a band called The Chain Reaction. Joe Perry was the lead guitarist for The Jam Band, featuring Tom Hamilton on bass and Joey Kramer on drums. In 1970, the two bands performed on the same bill together. The two groups began to entertain the idea of uniting as one. Tyler insisted that he would agree only if allowed to move out from behind the drums and take over the lead singer role. The rest agreed, and the line-up that would endure for most of 45 years was completed. Rhythm guitarist Ray Tabano was added, and the band began its rehearsals.

The name Aerosmith was apparently coined by Joey Kramer, who claims it was a reference to Harry Nilsson’s album Aerial Ballet. However, others have stated it was related to a Sinclair Lewis novel.

Aerosmith’s first official gig was at a high school in Mendon, Massachusetts, on November 6th, 1970. By January of the following year Tabano was out and guitarist Brad Whitford was in. The band was quickly developing a reputation for their hard-rocking, high-energy performances, and it wasn’t long before Clive Davis, President of Columbia Records, came to see them at Max’s Kansas City in NYC. Only there was a problem. Aerosmith wasn’t supposed to play the night Davis was attending. They scraped their money together and managed to pay their way onto the bill that night, surely the best investment of their lives as Davis signed them in 1972 for $125,000.

Their self-titled debut album hit the streets in January of 1973 to minor success. It only reached number 166 on the Billboard charts but the lead single, “Dream On,” crept up to number 59. Their second studio effort, Get Your Wings

, dropped in 1974 and spawned three singles that failed to chart. After extensive touring in support of the release the band went back into the studio to record their third effort, what many believe was their breakout recording.

Toys in the Attic

was released in April of 1975 behind the single “Sweet Emotion,” the band’s first Top 40 hit. Rising to number 11, Toys catapulted the band to national and international status making their touring schedule more hectic and hedonistic. In 1976, Columbia Records re-released “Dream On” as a single, only this time it reached number six. Shortly thereafter, they re-released “Walk This Way,” which climbed to number 10. The remarkable re-release success of the two singles drove their first two records back onto the charts as well. This time around, their debut reached number 11, and Get Your Wings made it to number 74.

More touring kept the band from releasing their next record until almost a year later. Rocks

came out in May 1976 and made its way to number 3 behind a top-25 single, “Last Child.” Rocks  is considered their most influential album.

1977 saw the release of Draw The Line

, but the wildly successful band was beginning to show signs of the strain. Excessive drinking and drug use, along with the intense touring schedule, were taking their toll, and it was beginning to show in their performances. Joe Perry and Steven Tyler were labeled “The Toxic Twins” for their excessive drug use in and around the shows.

Perry and Tyler made a guest appearance in the film Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band featured their cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together.” The song became a Top 40 hit and kept Aerosmith in the limelight, for the time being.

The band began recording their sixth studio project in 1979. During breaks in the recording process they would hit the road for as many dates as possible. The tension simmering below the surface was coming to a head and finally boiled over at a show in July of that year. A backstage altercation between Tyler, Perry, and their wives led to Perry officially quitting the band. He immediately formed the Joe Perry Project and set about recording. Jimmie Crespo was hired as a replacement.

The band finished the recording, and Night in the Ruts

was released in November of that year. While it didn’t generate huge sales, it did reach number 14 on the charts but failed to chart any singles or gain much attention. The band’s popularity was waning and the subsequent tour found them playing in smaller and smaller venues to smaller and smaller crowds. Tyler’s drug use was reaching epic proportions, resulting in missing shows and collapsing onstage in 1980. The band was falling apart in every way.

Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits was released in part to soothe impatient fans who wanted the next studio record. Greatest Hits was a slow build but ended up being their best-selling album, racking up over 11 million sales. Soon after, Steven Tyler was badly injured in a motorcycle accident and found himself in a hospital for over two months.

After Tyler had recovered, the band began recording for Rock In A Hard Place

. After recording the first song, Whitford had had enough and quit, opting to play in the Joe Perry Project. Journeyman Rick Dufay replaced Whitford. The album hit number 32, and the one single, “Lightning Strikes,” reached number 21. Perry’s face began to be seen around the group again, and a reunion seemed to be in the works, but Tyler’s issues continued, and he collapsed on stage again.

On February 14th, 1984, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford officially re-joined the band, and while the ensuing Back In The Saddle Again tour was a financial success, the band was reaching rock bottom. They signed with Geffen Records but failed to produce another record. Meanwhile, their old label, Columbia, released two live records, Classics Live I & II, and another compilation record called Gems.1985 saw their next album, Done With Mirrors, which brought no hits and garnered little attention. The band continued to tour and tour until they found a hit song in the unlikeliest places.

Hip-hop icons Run DMC sampled and covered “Walk This Way” and invited Perry and Tyler to be part of the music video. The song hit number four on the charts, not only affirming that hip-hop was here to stay but also introducing Aerosmith to an entirely new generation of music lovers.

By 1986, the problems peaked, and an intervention was conducted for Steven Tyler. A stint in rehab followed. Manager Tim Collins then challenged the other members, reportedly promising to make them the greatest band in the world if they all got clean and sober. In short order, all members checked themselves into rehab and took on the challenge of reinventing themselves as sober musicians.

Collins must have known what he was doing because a cleaned-up Aerosmith was a massive success. They immediately recorded Permanent Vacation, which hit the stores in September of 1987. Besides being their first sober record, it was also the first record utilizing outside songwriting talent, something the band was reticent to accept. Ultimately, the combination proved powerful as the album produced three Top 20 singles, including “Dude Looks Like A Lady, Rag Doll, and Angel,” which reached number 3. Aerosmith was back and in a big, big way.

After a challenging tour with Guns N’ Roses, the follow-up to Vacation was 1989’s Pump. The Pump album reached number five and dropped three singles: “Jamie’s Got a Gun, Love In An Elevator,” and “What It Takes,” all of which reached the Top 10. The band received their first Grammy and two video music awards. A grueling 12-month tour followed.

Get a Grip was released in 1992. It was the band’s first number one and featured three Top 20 singles and one Top 40. Two years of touring later, another compilation, Big Ones, reached number six.

The next record, Nine Lives, was released in March 1999 amidst a whirlwind of changes: a new manager, a new producer, and injuries to Tyler and Kramer. The list went on and on, but Nine Lives still managed to hit number one.

In 1998, the love theme from the movie Armageddon became the band’s first and only number-one single. “Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” received massive airplay, and the band rode its success over the next leg of touring.

In March of 2001, Just Push Play was released and reached number two behind the single “Jaded,” which reached number seven. That same year, the band was the featured performer at the Super Bowl halftime show, being joined onstage by ‘NYSNC, Britney Spears, Mary J Blige, and Nelly. Shortly thereafter, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, receiving the honor of being the only band ever inducted while having a single on the charts.

In 2003, Aerosmith teamed up with Kiss to co-headline the Rocksimus Maximus tour, which played to arenas around the globe. Honkin’ With Bobo, the band’s long-awaited blues album came out in 2004 to little fanfare but still reached number five. A Spring 2006 tour with Cheap Trick was canceled abruptly when it was announced that Steven Tyler was undergoing throat surgery. By August, Tyler was back, and the Route of All Evil Tour was announced, featuring Aerosmith and Motley Crüe. While on tour, another compilation was released, “Devil’s Got a New Disguise,” which featured two new songs and reached number 15.

A 2009 tour with ZZ Top was plagued with injuries and setbacks including Tyler’s broken shoulder after he fell off the stage in Sturgis, South Dakota. The rest of the tour had to be canceled while Tyler recovered from his injuries. By the end of that year, Tyler announced he was pulling out of any subsequent touring to pursue his projects. On December 22nd, it was announced that Tyler would be entering rehab again to deal with a painkiller addiction that resulted from his many injuries.

In January 2010, Joe Perry announced the band would be holding auditions for his replacement, evoking a cease-and-desist letter from Tyler’s legal team. However, it wasn’t long before Tyler was back with the band.

In August of that year, Tyler signed on as a judge for the hit television show American Idol, which angered the rest of the group. However, Tyler assured them he would continue touring and recording with them while working on the show.

In 2012, Music From Another Dimension was released, followed by more touring. This installment was called the Global Warming Tour, and it carried the band into 2014, when yet another tour was announced, this one featuring Slash from Guns N’ Roses. The next in the endless column of tour dates was The Blue Army Tour, which took the band into 2015. With Steven Tyler’s throat issues in 2024, the band’s future status is up in the air.

It would be difficult to find a harder-working, more dedicated band anywhere in the world. Aerosmith has been a major influence on countless artists. They have strong American roots. They’ve had a long life filled with ups and downs and then ups again, but looking back, it’s easy to see why Aerosmith is the Greatest American Rock Band of all time.

It’s also why we’ve written many articles about Aerosmith on this site.

Complete List Of Aerosmith Albums And Discography
Top 10 Aerosmith Albums
Top 10 Aerosmith Album Covers
Top 10 Aerosmith Songs
10 Most Underrated Aerosmith Songs
Top 10 Aerosmith Love Songs
Top 10 Best ’80s Aerosmith Songs
Aerosmith’s Best Song On Each Of Their Studio Albums
Why Aerosmith Is The Greatest American Rock Band Of All Time
Aerosmith Is Going Vegas
Joey Kramer Out Again As The Drummer For Aerosmith
Top 10 Whitford/St. Holmes Songs
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Steven Tyler
Top 10 Joe Perry Songs
Complete List Of Joe Perry Albums And Discography
Joe Perry of Aerosmith Interview: 13 Albums That Changed My Life
Aerosmith Retires From The Road For Good
John Douglas (Touring Drummer for Aerosmith): 11 Albums That Changed My Life
Complete List Of Aerosmith Band Members
Complete List Of Aerosmith Songs From A to Z
Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview

Why Aerosmith Is The Greatest American Rock Band Of All Time article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2025

Black Sabbath’s legacy is built not just on its groundbreaking music but on the many musicians who passed through its ranks over the decades. What started in 1968 as a four-piece band in Birmingham, England, became a constantly evolving force in heavy metal, with Tony Iommi as its only consistent member. From the original lineup that pioneered the genre to the many vocalists, drummers, bassists, and keyboardists who shaped different eras of the band, each musician left their mark on Sabbath’s ever-changing history.

This article documents every member who played a role in Black Sabbath, whether for a brief period or across multiple decades. Some were part of the band’s most iconic moments, while others contributed to transitional periods that kept the band moving forward. Each lineup change brought a different sound, from the doom-laden blues of the early years to the melodic metal of the Tony Martin era. By examining each musician’s time in the band, we gain a deeper understanding of how Black Sabbath continuously reinvented itself while remaining a defining force in rock and metal.

Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi has been the driving force behind Black Sabbath since its formation, serving as the band’s only continuous member. His guitar work shaped the foundation of heavy metal, creating a sound that was darker, heavier, and more ominous than anything that had come before. His signature downtuned playing, developed after an industrial accident severed the tips of two of his fingers, gave Black Sabbath its unmistakable heaviness. Iommi’s riff-driven style defined legendary tracks such as Iron Man, Paranoid, and Children of the Grave, setting the standard for generations of metal guitarists to follow. Beyond his guitar work, he also contributed keyboards on select recordings between 1971 and 1976 and provided backing vocals in 1978.

As the band evolved through different lineups, Iommi remained at its core, steering Black Sabbath through the Ozzy Osbourne years, the Ronnie James Dio era, and later, the Tony Martin period. His leadership ensured the band’s survival and evolution, culminating in their final studio album, 13, in 2013. Even after the band’s farewell The End Tour in 2017, Iommi remains synonymous with Black Sabbath. With a 2025 one-off reunion on the horizon, he once again proves that his connection to the band is unbreakable.

Bill Ward

Bill Ward’s drumming played a crucial role in shaping Black Sabbath’s early sound, blending power, jazz influences, and unpredictable fills that gave their music an unmistakable groove. His thunderous playing drove classics like War Pigs, Fairies Wear Boots, and Hand of Doom, delivering both precision and raw energy. Beyond drumming, Ward occasionally contributed lead vocals, most notably on It’s Alright from Technical Ecstasy and Swinging the Chain from Never Say Die! His distinctive playing style helped Black Sabbath stand apart from their peers, as his ability to shift between dynamic restraint and explosive intensity brought a unique feel to the band’s sound.

Despite his integral role, Ward’s time in the band was marked by departures and returns. He initially left in 1980 due to personal struggles but made several comebacks over the years, including stints in 1982, 1984, 1994, and during the 1997 reunion. His absence from Black Sabbath’s final The End Tour in 2017 was controversial, but his legacy as the band’s original drummer remains unquestioned. With a 2025 reunion planned, the possibility of Ward returning to the stage alongside his former bandmates would be a historic moment for Black Sabbath fans.

Geezer Butler

Geezer Butler was the primary lyricist for Black Sabbath, crafting the dark and thought-provoking themes that defined the band’s image and message. His bass playing was equally important, delivering thick, intricate grooves that formed the backbone of Sabbath’s sound. His style, influenced by blues and early rock, was a key ingredient in tracks like N.I.B., Into the Void, and Children of the Grave. Unlike many bassists of his era, Butler often played melodic counterpoints to Iommi’s crushing guitar riffs, giving the music an added layer of depth.

Beyond his role as a bassist, Butler’s lyrical themes of war, social issues, and the occult helped establish the band’s identity. His contributions extended through multiple lineups, including the original era, the Dio-fronted Heaven and Hell, and the later 13 album. Although he officially retired from touring in 2017, his legacy as one of heavy metal’s most influential bassists is cemented. A 2025 reunion would provide an opportunity for fans to see Butler return to the stage, reinforcing his place in the band’s legendary history.

Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne’s unmistakable voice and wild stage presence helped make Black Sabbath one of the most influential rock bands of all time. His eerie, almost trance-like vocal delivery brought an apocalyptic feel to songs like Black Sabbath, Paranoid, and Snowblind. While he was not a primary songwriter, his vocal melodies and performances became an integral part of the band’s identity. Alongside Iommi, Butler, and Ward, Ozzy helped shape the band’s signature sound, creating a blueprint for what would become heavy metal.

His time with Black Sabbath was turbulent, marked by legendary highs and dramatic departures. After being fired in 1979 due to substance abuse issues, Ozzy embarked on a massively successful solo career, becoming one of rock’s biggest icons. However, he reunited with Sabbath multiple times, including the Reunion live album in 1998 and 13 in 2013, which became their final studio release. While health concerns have slowed him down in recent years, a 2025 reunion could offer a historic moment where the Prince of Darkness once again takes his place at the front of Black Sabbath.

Dave Walker

Dave Walker briefly served as Black Sabbath’s lead vocalist between 1977 and 1978, stepping in after Ozzy Osbourne’s departure. Before joining Sabbath, he had fronted bands such as Fleetwood Mac and Savoy Brown, bringing a blues-influenced vocal style that contrasted with the band’s heavier sound. His addition marked an uncertain period for Sabbath as they attempted to move forward without their original frontman.

Although Walker rehearsed with the band and even performed an early version of Junior’s Eyes on BBC’s “Look Hear” program, he never recorded an official release with Black Sabbath. His tenure was short-lived, as Osbourne returned to the band later in 1978, leading to Walker’s departure before the band recorded Never Say Die! Despite not leaving a lasting impact on Sabbath’s discography, his brief time with the band remains a fascinating footnote in their history.

Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio joined Black Sabbath in 1979, stepping into the lead vocalist role following Ozzy Osbourne’s dismissal. His addition brought a dramatic shift in the band’s sound, as his operatic vocal style and fantasy-driven lyrics steered Sabbath toward a more epic, grandiose approach. The result was Heaven and Hell (1980), an album that rejuvenated the band’s career and introduced classics like Neon Knights and Die Young. Dio’s presence gave Sabbath a new identity, making them one of the defining bands of the early heavy metal movement.

Dio remained with the band through Mob Rules (1981) and Live Evil (1982) before leaving due to tensions with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. He returned in 1991 for Dehumanizer, which modernized Sabbath’s sound for a heavier, darker era. In the 2000s, Dio reunited with Iommi, Butler, and Vinny Appice under the name Heaven & Hell, releasing The Devil You Know (2009) before his passing in 2010. His legacy in Sabbath remains one of the most celebrated in the band’s history.

Geoff Nicholls

Geoff Nicholls was Black Sabbath’s longtime keyboardist, contributing to the band from 1979 to 2004. Initially hired to play bass during Geezer Butler’s brief departure, Nicholls transitioned to keyboards when Butler returned, becoming an essential but often unseen part of the band’s sound. His atmospheric keyboard work added depth to Sabbath’s music, particularly on albums like Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, and Headless Cross.

While he rarely performed on stage with the band, his influence was present across numerous albums, providing orchestral textures and sonic layers that helped define their evolving sound. He remained with the band through multiple lineup changes before departing in 2004. Nicholls passed away in 2017, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most significant behind-the-scenes contributors to Black Sabbath.

Craig Gruber

Craig Gruber was briefly involved with Black Sabbath in 1979 during a transitional period when Geezer Butler had stepped away. Having previously played with Elf alongside Ronnie James Dio, Gruber was brought in for rehearsals as the band worked on material for what would become Heaven and Hell.

Although he played with the band during early writing sessions, Butler returned before the album was recorded, and Gruber did not appear on any official Black Sabbath releases. He later worked with bands like Rainbow and Gary Moore before passing away in 2015.

Vinny Appice

Vinny Appice became Black Sabbath’s drummer in 1980, replacing Bill Ward during the Heaven and Hell tour. His powerful, precise drumming fit seamlessly with the band’s heavier, more polished sound, and he contributed to Mob Rules (1981) and the live album Live Evil (1982). His work in Sabbath helped establish him as one of heavy metal’s premier drummers.

After Dio left Sabbath in 1982, Appice followed him to form the band Dio, where he played on multiple iconic albums. He returned to Black Sabbath in 1992 for Dehumanizer, once again anchoring the rhythm section. In the 2000s, he reunited with Iommi, Butler, and Dio under the Heaven & Hell name, performing with them until Dio’s passing in 2010.

Ian Gillan

Ian Gillan’s tenure as Black Sabbath’s vocalist from 1982 to 1984 remains one of the most unexpected chapters in the band’s history. Best known as the frontman of Deep Purple, Gillan joined Sabbath for Born Again (1983), an album that took a rawer, more aggressive approach. While his bluesy, wailing vocal style differed from his predecessors, he delivered energetic performances on tracks like Trashed and Disturbing the Priest.

Despite the album gaining a cult following, Gillan’s time with the band was short-lived. He left in 1984 to rejoin Deep Purple, making Born Again his only studio recording with Sabbath. His stint with the band remains a fascinating and divisive moment in their history.

Bev Bevan

Bev Bevan, best known as the drummer for Electric Light Orchestra, joined Black Sabbath in 1983, filling in for Bill Ward during the Born Again tour. His style was noticeably different from the band’s usual drummers, leaning more toward rock than heavy metal.

While he primarily served as a touring drummer, he contributed percussion to reissued bonus tracks of Born Again and played on two songs from The Eternal Idol (1987). His time in Sabbath was brief, and he returned to ELO after his tenure with the band.

Ron Keel

Ron Keel was briefly considered as Black Sabbath’s vocalist in 1984, during a period of instability within the band. Having fronted the band Steeler, Keel’s involvement with Sabbath was short-lived, as they ultimately chose Glenn Hughes as their new singer instead.

Keel went on to form his own band, Keel, which found success in the glam metal scene of the 1980s. His connection to Sabbath remains an interesting footnote in the band’s long and complex history.

David Donato

David Donato briefly joined Black Sabbath in 1984, rehearsing with the band and participating in a photo shoot, but he was dismissed before recording any material. His time with the band was fleeting, and he never appeared on an official release. Donato later distanced himself from the music industry and passed away in 2021.

Jeff Fenholt

Jeff Fenholt’s involvement with Black Sabbath has been a topic of debate. He claimed to have worked with Tony Iommi in 1985 on early versions of what would become Seventh Star, but Iommi later denied that Fenholt was ever an official member.

After his alleged time with Sabbath, Fenholt left the rock world and became a Christian evangelist. He passed away in 2019.

Eric Singer

Before gaining fame as the drummer for KISS, Eric Singer played with Black Sabbath from 1985 to 1987. His drumming was featured on Seventh Star (1986) and The Eternal Idol (1987), helping Sabbath transition into a more melodic, polished sound.

Gordon Copley

Gordon Copley briefly played bass for Black Sabbath in 1985, contributing to a single track, No Stranger to Love, on the Seventh Star album. At the time, Seventh Star was intended to be a solo album for Tony Iommi, but the record label insisted on branding it under the Black Sabbath name. Copley’s involvement was minimal, and he did not tour with the band or appear on any other recordings.

Outside of his brief tenure with Sabbath, Copley built a career as a respected session musician, contributing to various rock and pop projects. His time with the band remains a small but notable part of the Seventh Star sessions, marking a transitionary period in Sabbath’s history.

Dave Spitz

Dave Spitz joined Black Sabbath in 1985 and remained with the band through 1987, playing bass on Seventh Star. His style brought a solid, hard-hitting foundation to Sabbath’s evolving sound, fitting well with the more melodic direction the band was exploring at the time. Spitz was part of the touring lineup for Seventh Star, performing alongside Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes.

After leaving Sabbath, Spitz continued working with various rock and metal acts, including Great White and White Lion. Although he wasn’t part of Sabbath’s classic years, his contributions during this era helped stabilize the band as they experimented with new directions.

Glenn Hughes

Glenn Hughes became Black Sabbath’s lead vocalist in 1985, marking another major shift in the band’s identity. Best known for his work with Deep Purple and Trapeze, Hughes was an unconventional choice for Sabbath, bringing a more soulful and bluesy vocal style to Seventh Star. His powerful voice gave the album a distinct sound, but his tenure with the band was short-lived.

Hughes’ time in Sabbath was troubled, as he struggled with substance abuse during the Seventh Star tour. He was ultimately replaced by Ray Gillen after only a handful of shows. Despite this, Hughes recovered and went on to have a successful solo career, later forming Black Country Communion and continuing to perform as one of rock’s most revered vocalists.

Ray Gillen

Ray Gillen joined Black Sabbath in 1986, replacing Glenn Hughes on vocals after the Seventh Star tour began. Though he never recorded a full studio album with the band, he played a significant role in Sabbath’s live performances during this time. Gillen’s voice was powerful and versatile, making him a strong fit for both the new material and classic Sabbath songs.

He worked with the band on early demos for The Eternal Idol, but before the album was completed, he left to form the band Badlands. Some of his recordings surfaced as bonus tracks on later reissues of The Eternal Idol and Seventh Star. Gillen passed away in 1993, but his brief time with Sabbath remains an interesting chapter in the band’s ever-changing history.

Tony Martin

Tony Martin joined Black Sabbath in 1987 and became the band’s longest-tenured vocalist after Ozzy Osbourne. His debut album, The Eternal Idol, showcased his impressive vocal range and ability to adapt to Sabbath’s evolving sound. Over the next decade, he would record five studio albums with the band, including Headless Cross and Tyr, both of which became fan favorites among those who followed Sabbath’s post-Dio years.

Martin’s era was marked by a more melodic and gothic approach to metal, with his voice lending a dramatic, operatic feel to the music. Although his contributions are often overshadowed by Sabbath’s more famous lineups, he remained a key figure in the band’s later years. He was dismissed in 1991 to make way for the Dio-fronted Dehumanizer, but returned in 1993 for Cross Purposes and stayed until 1997.

Cozy Powell

Cozy Powell became Black Sabbath’s drummer in 1988, bringing his legendary hard-hitting style to the band. A veteran of Rainbow, Whitesnake, and Jeff Beck’s band, Powell’s drumming on Headless Cross and Tyr gave Sabbath a renewed sense of power and precision. His contributions were crucial in shaping the more theatrical and epic sound of this era.

Powell left the band in 1991 but returned in 1994 to record Forbidden. Sadly, he passed away in 1998, but his time in Sabbath remains one of the highlights of his storied career. His influence on the band’s late ‘80s and early ‘90s sound cannot be overstated.

Neil Murray

Neil Murray joined Black Sabbath in 1988 as the band’s bassist, appearing on Tyr and later rejoining in 1994 for Forbidden. His extensive background in rock and metal, including his work with Whitesnake and Gary Moore, made him a strong addition to the band’s rhythm section. His bass work provided a solid foundation for the more melodic and dramatic sound of the Tony Martin era.

Murray’s time with Sabbath may not have been as high-profile as the Geezer Butler years, but he remained an essential part of the band’s late-period lineup, contributing to their touring and recording efforts. He left in 1997 as Sabbath transitioned back toward their original lineup.

Bobby Rondinelli

Bobby Rondinelli took over drumming duties for Black Sabbath in 1993, replacing Cozy Powell. His first major contribution was on Cross Purposes, where his hard-hitting, technical style gave the album a sharper, more aggressive feel. He also played on Cross Purposes Live, showcasing his ability to handle both the new material and classic Sabbath songs.

Rondinelli stayed with the band until 1997 before moving on to other projects, including working with Blue Öyster Cult and Rainbow. His time in Sabbath was relatively brief but played an important role in keeping the band’s momentum going in the mid-1990s.

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“Carry on Wayward Son” has been a cornerstone of the Kansas catalog for decades. But it has also found an interesting place in pop culture, including being used as featured music leading up to the newest season of Amazon Prime’s crime thriller Reacher, which premiered this week (Feb. 20).

The ties between Kansas and the program go back to the first season, when chief detective Oscar Finlay pulled out a CD from his collection, while traveling as a passenger with series namesake, Jack Reacher. “Best opening of any rock song ever,” Finlay comments as the famous a capella vocal introduction begins to play through the car stereo. “What are you doing?” Reacher asks Finlay, who air drums as the song continues to build. “I gotta say, my guys don’t get their due. They can rock out,” he replies.

Hear Kansas’ ‘Carry on Wayward Son’ in the ‘Reacher’ Trailer

The a capella vocal intro came about very naturally, Kansas guitarist and co-founder Rich Williams shares in an upcoming interview on the UCR Podcast. “I don’t know whose idea it was, but it was a unanimous decision as we were doing the vocal tracks, ‘This needs to be at the beginning. It just make perfect sense,'” he remembers, adding that they quickly recognized they had something special on their hands. “Listening to the whole album, that’s when it really hit us. ‘This is a game changer, this record.’ It was obvious that ‘Carry on Wayward Son’ was going to be a hit. We were really happy with it. We knew that finally, after three albums, our fourth album, this could make a big difference.”

The Birth of ‘Carry on Wayward Son’

The sessions for Leftoverture, the group’s fourth album, had begun with the band facing a bit of a crisis — they didn’t have songs ready to go because of their constant road work and vocalist Steve Walsh was also dealing with writer’s block. The album got its title from the sprawling epic “Magnum Opus,” which had the working name of “Leftoverture.” It earned that tag, having been assembled from pieces of music the group had come up with at soundchecks as well as some leftover bits from their previous album, Masque.

Guitarist Kerry Livgren ultimately penned five of the eight songs on Leftoverture — with “Carry on Wayward Son” being a last-minute arrival.”We were in rehearsals in Topeka and finishing up working on the material which was going to be on what was to become Leftoverture,” Williams details. “The last song to come in was ‘Wayward Son,’ on the last day. We didn’t really have much of it. We didn’t run through it and it wasn’t arranged in the form that it is now, verse, chorus, etc. It wasn’t until we got into the recording process [that we finally finished it].”

“It was kind of an assembly line. You’re working on getting bass and drum tracks and you go through all of the material,” he continues. “Then, you have keyboard days, guitar days and vocal days, working from song to song. At the end of cutting the basic tracks, we needed to get on with that new song, because we’d finished everything else. That’s when we arranged it, learned it and started rolling tape. Really, that version is probably the first time we played it correctly.”

READ MORE: Kansas Carry On in a Big Way With ‘Leftoverture’

Reacher is just the latest moment in the spotlight for “Carry on Wayward Son,” which was famously featured previously throughout 15 seasons of the drama Supernatural between 2005 and 2019. The band also performed the song in a scene from the contemporary western crime drama, Walker. The AEW wrestling team, the Elite, used it as their entrance music in recent years — and you can even discover what it might sound like if South Park’s Cartman handled the vocals, thanks to Instagram.

“It’s becoming normalized,” Williams says. “I’ll get a call from Phil, ‘What do you think about it being in this next show?’ It’s like, how many shows is this going to be in? It’s used so frequently! I learned a few months ago that it was going to be part of the season 3 preview for Reacher, but I didn’t watch it. I waited until me and my wife finally finished watching the first two seasons. Then, I watched the trailer and they did such a great job with the way they used it. I’m amazed that a song that is over 40 years old is still so relevant.”

The band finished off their long-running 50th anniversary tour at the end of 2024. Though current vocalist Ronnie Platt recently shared that he’s battling thyroid cancer, he’s keeping a positive outlook and the group is looking forward to getting back on the road. Kansas has concerts scheduled throughout 2025 including a run of summer co-headlining dates with 38 Special.

Watch Kansas Perform ‘Carry on Wayward Son’ Live in 2024

Sharon Osbourne has revealed that she once turned down an opportunity for Ozzy Osbourne to audition for a role in the hugely successful Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise.

On the latest episode of Billy Corgan’s new podcast The Magnificent Others, in which the Smashing Pumpkins frontman “engages in profound conversations with extraordinary individuals who have reached the pinnacle of success in their respective field”, Osbourne tells Corgan about what she calls her “biggest mistake.”

“He got offered to go and read for Pirates Of The Caribbean, and I’ve never said this to anyone, and I said no,” Osbourne reveals. “Now wouldn’t he have been perfect?”

“He would have been perfect!” responds Corgan. “Maybe it’s not too late, but God bless.”

In other news, Corgan has revealed that he plans to perform with Adam Jones from Tool and Tom Morello at this summer’s Black Sabbath reunion show Back To The Beginning in Birmingham, UK.

“Adam, Tom and I all grew up in the same sort of general vicinity. Tom had this idea – what he calls ‘The Illinois Boys’ – that The Illinois Boys would get together and play, so that’s cool,” Corgan tells NME. “I love it. I’m very fond and love Adam’s music and playing and I’ve known Tom for 30 years or so, so it’s a cool thing.”

Back To The Beginning will be the first time Black Sabbath’s founding lineup have played together since appearing at the UK Music Hall Of Fame in 2005. It is set to be the band’s final show, as well as the last time Osbourne performs onstage. The Prince Of Darkness retired from touring in 2023.