GREG PRATO – A Rockin’ Rollin’ Man: Bon Scott Remembered

Greg Prato’s new book, A Rockin’ Rollin’ Man: Bon Scott Remembered, marks 40 year since the AC/DC singer passed away. The book is comprised solely of interviews but they are not structured one by one. Rather, the book is topical and quote based. For instance, the first chapter’s topic is memories and initial impressions of first hearing Bon Scott-era AC/DC. The author has picked a quote from each interview that fits the topic and for most part none of the quotes are longer than 3-4 paragraphs.

The people interviewed are either fans or people who knew him personally, or both, and includes (but is not limited to) Phil Anselmo (Pantera), Bun E. Carlos (ex-Cheap Trick), KK Downing (ex-Judas Priest), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth (Overkill), Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy), Chris Jericho (Fozzy), Lips (Anvil), Michael Monroe (Hanoi Rocks), Tony Platt (Highway to Hell and Back in Black mixing engineer), Brian Tatler (Diamond Head), and Simon Wright (ex-AC/DC).

Conducting interviews with such a vast variety of musicians gives different perspectives. These guys come from all across the board, some knew him while others didn’t but they all have 20+ years of professional experience in the music industry. It’s very interesting to read what Bon Scott meant to these people, their take on why he was such a great singer and front man, and how much influence he has had both alive and posthumously. There are some interesting stories here, especially from those who met the guy, on the road, backstage, in the studio or even shared the stage with him for a song or two.

Since we only get the topics, the chapter titles and quotes from the musicians being interviewed, the author/interviewer is kind of invisible. Sometimes he adds some information in brackets when it’s obvious that we need a bit more context to understand what question people are answering. This approach works really well because the author doesn’t interfere too much, so you get an uninterrupted story. At the same time it’s a double-edged sword, as it sometime would have been nice with some additional input from the author. For instance, some of the musicians talk about CBGB, a New York City music club which was the birthplace of Punk in the city. It’s never explained what CBGB was, so if you’re not familiar with the history or significance of CBGB you might have to google it to get the context.

It’s not all about Bon Scott though. There’s a whole chapter dedicated to the importance of the brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. It even has a midsection with live pictures from 1979 (Bon Scott) and 1980 (Brian Johnson).

One objection is that the material for this book could have been trimmed a bit more. For instance in the second chapter, “Meeting The Man,” there are a couple of guys who didn’t meet him, who simply state that they didn’t meet him. These could have been left out. They’re just fluff and don’t add any value to the reader.

If you look past the extra fluff and the occasional typo, the content is really good. It’s a very easy and truly enjoyable read. This book does not present the truth about Bon Scott’s life or death, it’s not a reveal-all type book. Rather it’s a bunch of different musicians’ and industry professionals’ observations and perceptions of the man. For most part they agree but sometimes they are conflicting, and that makes for an interesting read.