Brian Johnson actually wrote the book, “Rockers and Rollers.”
Not only does this mean that the AC/DC singer didn’t have a ghostwriter, as many musicians who put out memoirs do, but Johnson put actual pen to paper.
“I just had a legal pad and a pen,” he says, his cheery speaking voice sounding more like a storyteller who draws you in with a whisper at a pub than the high-pitched scream that has belted out some of the hardest hits to ever rock arenas.
Johnson says he began the book when AC/DC were working on their most recent album.
“As a vocalist, when you go into the studio, you usually hang around for a couple of weeks until they get the sound right on the guitars and the drums,” he says. “There’s a lot of time doing nothing, so I just started putting these things down.”
Johnson’s book is not the typical rock ’n’ roll story of a small-town kid made good. He tells his tale via the cars in his life.
“My memory is so bad that the only time I remembered things was when I thought of motor cars,” he says.
Back in the ring
The writing of “Rockers and Rollers” is not unlike an AC/DC song. It’s humorous, it’s fun and it’s to the point.
“If there was a category you could put it in, it’d be toilet book,” laughs Johnson, “because you can pick it up anytime you like and read a chapter, and when you finish your business, go away and pick it up another time.”
