Bon Scott

Bon Scott
Scott performing with AC/DC in December 1979
Background information
Birth name	Ronald Belford Scott
Born	(1946-07-09)9 July 1946 Forfar, Angus, Scotland
Died	19 February 1980(1980-02-19) (aged 33) East Dulwich, London, England
Genres	Rock and roll blues rock hard rock
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Years active	1964–1980
Formerly of	AC/DC Fraternity The Valentines The Spektors
Spouse(s)	Irene Thornton ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1977)​
Website	bonscottofficial.com

Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the second lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980.^[1]

Born in Forfar in Angus, Scotland, Scott spent his early years in Kirriemuir. He moved to Australia with his family in 1952 at the age of six, living in Melbourne for four years before settling in Fremantle, Western Australia.^[1]

With AC/DC Scott performed on the band's first seven albums: High Voltage (1975, Australian only release), T.N.T. (1975, Australian only release), High Voltage (1976, first international release), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976, not released until 1981 in the United States), Let There Be Rock (1977), Powerage (1978) and Highway to Hell (1979).

Scott formed his first band, The Spektors, in 1964 and became the band's drummer and occasional lead vocalist. He performed in several other bands, including The Valentines and Fraternity, before replacing original AC/DC lead singer Dave Evans in 1974.^[1]

AC/DC's popularity grew throughout the 1970s, initially in Australia, and then internationally. Their 1979 album Highway to Hell reached the top 20 in the United States, and was their commercial breakthrough. However, on 19 February 1980, Scott died after a night out in London with former musician and alleged drug dealer Alistair Kinnear.

AC/DC briefly considered disbanding, but the group recruited vocalist Brian Johnson of the British glam rock band Geordie. AC/DC's subsequent album, Back in Black, was released only five months later, and was a tribute to Scott. It went on to become at one point the second-best-selling album of all time.^[1]

In the July 2004 issue of Classic Rock, Scott was ranked number one in a list of the "100 Greatest Frontmen of All Time".^[2] Hit Parader ranked Scott as fifth on their 2006 list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Vocalists of all time.^[3]