The singer that Brian Johnson said is one of his heroes

It’s almost impossible to successfully replace a singer who already became the voice of a famous group. Very few bands had the chance to continue to be successful after they had to replace their vocalists after fame. One of them was AC/DC, who tragically lost their frontman Bon Scott in 1980 and recruited the ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson to fill his shoes. Johnson’s debut with the Australian group, “Back In Black”, was simply one of the best-selling albums of all time, which represented a new start for AC/DC’s superstardom.

Over the decades, the singer was praised by countless artists all over the world and who now consider him a real hero that inspired them to become musicians or to be in a band. But, as every musician, Johnson also had his vocal heroes when he was young and once he revealed who was one of them.

The singer that Brian Johnson said is one of his heroes

Although he became very famous only when he joined AC/DC in 1980 and “Back In Black” was released, Brian Johnson already was in the music business since 1962. He had already been in many bands and had released four studio albums as the frontman of Geordie.

So he had the chance to see up-close the evolution of Rock and Roll music. Also had the opportunity to see, especially many British artists performing. One of them was the Free and Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers, who the AC/DC vocalist said was one of his heroes. Back in 2018, Rodgers toured celebrating the 50th anniversary of his successful career. So Johnson talked about the singer in an official statement posted on his website.

“I can’t believe it was 50 years ago that I first heard Paul Rodgers velvet voice singing ‘The Hunter’. It became the Anthem for every Pub, Working Men’s Clubs and City Halls across the UK. Paul was the epitome of what every Rock singer should be. He had the looks the moves and a soul voice that made everything swing. That’s not an art it’s a gift.”

Brian Johnson continued:

“He also wrote the coolest songs, from ‘All Right Now’, ‘My Brother Jake’, ‘Bad Company’, ‘Feel Like Making Love ‘, all still classics to this day. In 2017 in the theatre in Oxford, I had the honor of singing with Paul and Robert Plant. That’s two heroes in one song, I get chills when I think of it. Paul’s voice is still in perfect shape and you have got to see him live.”

“I can see no better way of celebrating 50 years of Paul Rodgers than the live recording at The Royal Albert Hall. The spirit of Free lives on in Free Spirit, and Paul Rodgers is the embodiment of it all. Cheers Paul and never stop,” Brian Johnson said.

He agrees with what Mick Jagger, Alice Cooper and Jimmy Page said about Rodgers

On the second seasons of  his TV show “A Life on The Road” in 2019, Brian Johnson had the chance to interview his good friend Paul Rodgers. In the introduction of the episode, the AC/DC vocalist praised him.

(Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “Mick Jagger said he is one of the best singers in the world. Alice Cooper said ‘I just call him The Voice’. Jimmy Page said he had never sung a wrong note. I agree with all of them, he is the son, the father and the holy ghost of singers. He is Mr. Paul Rodgers!” Brian Johnson said.

Brian always has been a great fan of Rodgers. Also had the chance to see him performing live in the early days.

Rodgers was listed many times by many different magazines as one of the best singers of all time. Besides fronting Free and Bad Company, he also worked with Brian May and Roger Taylor as “Queen + Paul Rodgers”. They toured and recorded the album “The Cosmos Rocks”, released in 2008.