How AC/DC’s sound traces back to Little Richard: “That’s how it evolved”
If you were asked to give an accurate representation of what defines ‘hard rock’, there probably aren’t any descriptions that would be more fitting than simply listening to or watching AC/DC.
There’s a good reason why the Australian group made it to be as popular as they were, and it was the fact that they managed to capture a certain raucous energy that was not only musically captivating but also thoroughly entertaining in the way it was presented, owing to the fact that much of it was delivered with a knowing smirk at its own occasional ridiculousness.
There’s also a reason why they were the standard-bearers for so long, and the group that so many other acts looked up to as a source of inspiration. Nobody had done what they did so succinctly or been as direct as they were, and very few have managed to ever capture that same feeling of complete and utter confidence in what they wanted to be known for.
They seemingly knew from the beginning what their identity as a group was going to be, and they ran with it, only ever making the slightest of tweaks in order to ensure that they didn’t fall into rock and roll obscurity.
In terms of maintaining this level of popularity, they never did let it slide, still selling out stadium tours decades into their career and producing material that lived up to their ethos as a group. Sometimes, repeating the same formula can be tiresome for fans to digest, but when done with such graceful excellence as this, it’s understandable why AC/DC reaped the rewards of this commitment.
Deservedly so, the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, and upon receiving this recognition of a lifetime of hard work, Malcolm Young stated in an interview that AC/DC came to be as a result of them attempting to channel the same energy as another former icon of rock and roll who had been just as unwavering in his approach.
“From the get-go, I said it was a rock ‘n’ roll band,” Young argued, “We’re gonna play rock ‘n’ roll. That’s how we went, and that’s how it’s evolved. I was still playing guitar like a piano to get a vibe of a Little Richard song, so it was things like that, playing rhythm around where the rhythm came from on the record, but with two guitars.”
Expanding further on how Little Richard’s influence rubbed off on the band, he explained that listening intently to his music inspired him to approach his own instrument in the same way that the arrangements of his idol’s songs unravelled. “I’d listen to a song and say, ‘Hang on, I like that piano thing’, so I’d play the guitar like that and get the vibe from it, and it just evolved from the get-go,” he added, “It was pretty obvious what to do; You don’t think about rock ‘n’ roll, you just do it.”
Perhaps there aren’t many hard rock outfits that have managed to perfect their craft in the same way as AC/DC managed to, and while what he produced was far from being the same, nobody really did rock and roll the same way as Little Richard. They’re two shining, if radically different, examples of how complete conviction in your craft can get you an awful long way, and it’s no surprise that they’ve both managed to remain relevant sources of inspiration for future generations.
