Susan Masino - Let There Be Rock: The Story of AC/DC (Updated Edition)

This book is dedicated to Angus, Malcolm, Phil, Cliff, Brian, and especially to Bonwho was and always will be the lightnin flash in the middle.

And to Perry Cooper and Cody Jessup, who both truly loved AC/DC.

A s I sit here on the twenty-eighth anniversary of the day I first met AC/DC, I am still in awe of what an incredible twist of fate it was. Ive been a rock journalist since 1977 and have met hundreds of bands along the way. But one band in particular would become the inspiration for me to follow my rock n roll heart. And almost three decades later, that same band would help make my ultimate dreams come true: to become an internationally published author.

Over the past year, whenever I told someone that I was writing a biography of AC/DC, their most common response was, Why did you decide to do that? Well, I guess the answer to that question goes back to a hot August afternoon in 1977; actually it was the same day that Elvis Presley died. AC/DC was scheduled to perform at the Stone Hearth, a little rock club in the downtown area of Madison, Wisconsinright in the middle of my hometown.

At the time, I was a 21-year-old single mother going through a bitter breakup, desperately trying to find my own way in the world. A girlfriend of mine introduced me to a local band, who in turn introduced me to the publishers of a rock newspaper. At first I started out reviewing bar bands for them for free. It was something I loved doing and eventually I worked my way up from freelance writerput the emphasis on freeto a salaried associate editor. Pure nirvana. Just think, getting paid to hang out and interview rock n roll bands. And some people think Im just a ditzy blonde!

On this particular Tuesday afternoon while listening to all the radio stations lament the passing of the King, I was driving by the newspaper and something told me to pull over and check for new assignments. Clearly divine intervention. The only person in the office was Gary Sohmers, the editor, who had just gotten off the phone with a representative from Stardate. The promoter had booked a band into the Stone Hearth that night. They had just called the paper to see if someone would be willing to come down and help out. My compensation would be free admission to the show, plus a friend on the guest list. Almost as good as money. I didnt have anything else planned for that evening, so I jumped at it. As I was running out the door to go home and change, I asked Gary who the band was. He shook his head and said, I dont know, some band from Australia called AC/DC. No words spoken to me since would have such an impact on my life.

I went home and freshened up, putting on a clean pair of jeans, a white T-shirt, and my Frye cowboy boots. A little concealer, blush, clear lip-gloss, and mascara: all I needed for my creaseless 21-year-old face. Ah, those were the daysMy outfit was standard gear for running around bars, auditoriums, and backstage areas. Plus, it helped distinguish me from the groupies that were always dressed in satin, spandex, cleavage, and stiletto heels. Although many times that combat gear didnt help me from being groupedor, at times, gropedalong with the rest.

I arrived at the club by four oclock that afternoon, and spent my time running to the liquor store to buy Blue Nun wine for the lead singer and arranging the deli trays in the dressing room. I wont go into details here, because that would spoil part of the story. What I can tell you is that it changed my life for the better, and nothing has been the same since.

Twenty-four years later, I wrote a book about my escapades during this time of my life called Rock N Roll Fantasy: My Life and Times with AC/DC, Van Halen, Kisswhich I published as an eBook in May of 2001. Thanks to glowing reviews on some of the best AC/DC fan websites, it sold well in 14 countries. That eBook snagged me a publishing deal with Badger Books to write Famous Wisconsin Musicians. Once the publisher, Marv Balousek, saw the reviews for my eBook, he offered to print it on demand without a signed contract. That way, I could still look for an international publishing deal for Rock N Roll Fantasy. I know this sounds confusing, but stick with me, it gets better.

Once you have a couple of books out, everyone asks you what your next book will be. My next book? I wasnt even thinking about my next book! That is, until I went to the Gulf Coast of Florida on my annual summer vacation. It was July of 2003, and for some reason, I was inspired by the idea of writing a biography of AC/DC. I know, I know, my husband John even laughed at me!

A few months later, Badger Books invited me to Chicago for Book Expo America, the publishing industrys version of the SuperBowl, to do a book signing for Rock N Roll Fantasy. Initially I looked at it as an excuse to party in Chicago for the weekend. I never imagined that this seemingly innocent trip to Illinois would be another major opportunity to change my lifeagain. And AC/DC would have something to do with it.

When we arrived at McCormick Place on Saturday, June 5, 2004, I was delighted with the fact that all the major hitters were there in the flesh, flaunting their big, bad publishing companies. You know the ones; they list their credentials, and then state that they do not accept unsolicited materials. Now for an unknown writer, that is the ultimate Catch-22. Its very hard to get an agent without being published, and its impossible to send your materials to a publisher without an agent. How the hell did people like Stephen King get started anyway?

So there I was with 500 booths, 600 authors, hundreds of publishers, and about 30,000 people who loved books, all under one roof. It was like dying and going to literary heaven, or literally heaven, whichever you prefer. Instead of finding my own booth and settling in to get ready for my book signing, I had the urge to roam around with a vengeance. I was on a mission looking for something. WhatI didnt know.

After about an hour of wandering around, getting hopelessly lost (and no, those numeric markers hanging from the ceiling do not help), I walked around a corner and to my left was a massive black and red, well-lit wall of rock n roll books on about every musician you can imagine. I stopped cold. I remember seeing the lights and all the books with a fuzzy haze around everything. Just like when Wayne spots Cassandra, the chick bass player in the movie Waynes World, while the song Dream Weaver, plays in the background. I had the same experience, minus Gary Wrights soundtrack.

I discovered that I was standing in the booth of the Music Sales Group, which includes the Omnibus Press imprint. Music Sales is a prestigious publishing company whose specialty is music tablature books and biographies. They have offices in eight countries and were established in the 1930s. Not only are they one of the most-respected companies in the industry, but they also publish AC/DCs music tablature books. Hello?!! When I figured out who they were, I started laughing and carrying on to my husband saying, Im home! This is it! Theyre going to sign me and thats all there is to it! As I was laughing and kidding around, a very nice young woman came over and said, Im sorry, you are? She was polite, but I knew she thought I was nuts. When I told her who I was and that I had a book they might be interested in, Alison Wofford, Omnibus publicist, said, Editors dont usually come along to these things, but our managing editor happens to be with us this weekend. You should talk to her. Could she have said anything better? Standing a few feet away from me, their managing editor, the angelic Andrea Rotondo, was just finishing a conversation with someone else, then she turned to me. You can imagine after several rejections and experiencing the Catch-22 agent/publisher quagmire, my introduction and sales pitch to her was on the level of grabbing for a lifeboat on the