Died On This Date (February 19, 1980) Bon Scott / Lead Singer Of AC/DC
themusicsover Ronald “Bon” Scott
July 9, 1946 – February 19, 1980
Bonn Scott was the second lead singer of hard rock juggernaut, AC/DC. In 1964, Scott formed his first band, the Spektors as their drummer. They eventually morphed into the Valentines, a pop band who scored a bubblegum hit or two in Australia. For a good laugh, check out their video for “Build Me Up Buttercup.” That’s Scott on back-up vocals to the right. After that band broke up in 1970, Scott joined Fraternity, a moderately successful rock band that took him down a more deserved rock path than he was on with his earlier bands. When Fraternity went on hiatus in 1973, Scott found work as a driver of up-and-coming hard rock band, AC/DC. At the time, brothers, Angus Young and Malcolm Young who were looking for someone to replace original lead singer, Dave Evans. Meanwhile, Scott was pestering them about becoming their drummer, but the Youngs soon decided to hire Scott as their lead singer, his gutteral snarl being a better match for their sonic guitars. The group released their first album, High Voltage in Australia in September of 1974. By 1979, the band were building a fan base throughout Europe and North America, so when their sixth album, Highway to Hell came out in July of ’79, AC/DC were well on their way to becoming one of the biggest rock band’s of their generation. The album became their first to crack the U.S. album charts, eventually peaking at #17. Sadly however, Scott wouldn’t live to enjoy the fruits of the group’s hard work. On February 19, 1980, he was placed in a parked automobile to sleep off a night of heavy drinking. When a friend went to check on him some hours later, he found Scott unresponsive, so he was taken to a local hospital where he was listed as dead on arrival. Bonn Scott died at the age of 33, having choked on his own vomit. Official documents indicated that he died of acute alcohol poisoning and suffered “death by misadventure.”
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