Ever since AC/DC released “Whole Lotta Rosie” in 1977, fans and music writers alike have speculated on who might have been the inspiration behind the hit. And now, 46 years later, someone may have come up with the answer.
Jesse Fink, who’s written two books about the band, says he’s done extensive research on the matter – and he’s determined the song was inspired by a red-headed Australian woman named Rosemaree Garcia, who ran a brothel in Tasmania in the 1970s. Garcia, who died from a heroin overdose in 1979, was romantically involved with singer Bon Scott for about six months, Fink says.
In the song, Scott describes Garcia like this: “She ain’t exactly pretty / Ain’t exactly small / Four two 39 56 / You could say she’s got it all.” Fink says the lyrics describe her perfectly. “Rosie had a very sad life,” he says. “She was a big girl; tall and heavy. She saw Bon before he went to England. Rosie became a heroin addict and prostitute to support her habit. And no, she wasn’t pretty.”
