The three bands who shaped Malcolm Young
When Angus Young was asked about the album that best defined AC/DC, he opted for their 1977 record Let There Be Rock. Why? It’s a great album that saw AC/DC stick to their guns and continue making exciting, riff-heavy classic rock during a period when most bands were making the shift to other genres.
Angus Young spoke about the album and said, “Let There Be Rock, for me, is the album. My brother, George, [asked] me and Malcolm… ‘What sort of album do you wanna do this time?’ And Malcolm just looked at me, and he said, ‘We just want an album that’s gonna be pure hard rock guitar’.”
If there was ever a quote that has better defined Malcolm Young, it’s that. He was arguably one of the best rhythm guitarists on the planet, creating the foundation on which AC/DC would eventually build their legendary career. Many people mistake their songs for simplicity, but they couldn’t be more wrong. To have such a variety of enticing riffs using simple chords but compelling melodies is no mean feat, and there was nobody better at it than Malcolm Young.
Several bands have been a big inspiration to the AC/DC rhythm guitarist, but there are three in particular that shaped him as a musician. Here, we will look at who those bands were and how they contributed to the sound of AC/DC and Malcolm Young as a guitarist.
Three bands who inspired Malcolm Young:
The Rolling Stones
As one of the best-selling rock bands in history, it’s hard for anybody remotely involved in the genre not to be slightly influenced by them. AC/DC are no exception. The bands ended up being quite close and even performed on stage together; however, before that, both Malcolm and his brother Angus Young were big fans.
“We’ve got a lot in common. If we’re having a party, we won’t be sticking on an AC/DC record. It’ll be the Stones, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, that kinda bag,” said Malcolm. It’s clear why he became so obsessed with the rhythm of rock music, given blues is such a big part of his musical upbringing. Everything that AC/DC have ever done somewhat orbits the sound of the blues, and The Rolling Stones were also good at drawing inspiration from the genre, so the influence can certainly be heard.
Angus recalled that the band and their more bluesy numbers stayed with Young until his final days. The guitarist passed away in his ‘60s from dementia, and Angus would play him The Rolling Stones during his final days. “One of the last records I ever played him was The Rolling Stones when they were doing a lot of blues tracks [2016’s Blue and Lonesome], he just thought it was great.”
The Who
Young was always relatively to the point when answering questions, and when he was younger and asked what bands inspired him, he was equally so. “The Stones and The Who… and that’s about it,” he said. Again, similar to The Stones, The Who have riff-heavy blues at the heart of their music, so it’s not a surprise to hear that Malcolm could connect with what they made.
“The first time I heard ‘My Generation’ by the Who, that was something. The Beatles and the Stones were the big thing,” he said, “Then all of a sudden this sounded heavier. That changed my whole thing.”
The Yardbirds
While Young mainly listened to The Who and The Rolling Stones as he was growing up, there is no denying that The Yardbirds also had a significant impact on him. This is because their sound certainly aligned with Malcolm’s, but also because, with Jimmy Page at the helm, they showed the AC/DC boys how music can capture the attention of a crowd instantaneously.
When the band came to Australia, Angus Young recalled, “We had gone, the two of us together… the lineup had just changed. I think they originally used to have Jeff Beck. But then, later on, when we saw them, they didn’t have Jeff Beck. They had Jimmy Page on guitar,” he said, “That kind of sound, especially for guitar, it jumped out at you, the sound of it.”
There is no denying that the music AC/DC went on to make was music that jumped out at the audience and grabbed their attention from the word go. Seeing The Yardbirds live gave Malcolm a good idea of how he should play to quickly get an audience on board.
