Tributes yesterday poured in for Malcolm Young, cofounder of the Australian rock band AC/DC, a day after he died at the age 64 after suffering from dementia for several years.
Malcolm Young and his brother Angus Young founded AC/DC in 1973. Their hits included Highway to Hell from 1979, and Back in Black and You Shook Me All Night Long from 1980.
“Malcolm, along with Angus, was the founder and creator of AC/DC. With enormous dedication and commitment he was the driving force behind the band,” AC/DC posted on its Facebook page late on Saturday.
Young was a songwriter, backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist for AC/DC, a hard rock and heavy metal band that was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
“AC/DC were incredibly special,” Australian rock historian Glen Baker told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) yesterday.
“They became a part of Australian music at a time when we needed heroes and people who were totally reliable, who wouldn’t deviate for one second, who had a clear vision of where they wanted to go,” he said. “The architect of that sound was Malcolm Young, the rhythm guitarist who wrote every song, every original song they did.”
While Angus was the public face of the band, Malcolm was renowned for being behind the famous riffs that left fans thunderstruck.
ABC music critic Paul Donoughue said Young’s guitar playing underpinned AC/DC’s sound and also influenced a generation of musicians, saying Young’s impact on rock and roll “cannot be overstated.”
Fans and friends posted more than 56,000 comments on Facebook under the band’s announcement.
Giants of the music world took to social media to express their shock and hail Young’s lasting influence.
“So sad to learn of the passing of yet another friend, Malcolm Young,” Ozzy Osbourne tweeted.
Eddie Van Halen tweeted that it was a “a sad day in rock and roll.”
Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes, guitarist Slash, horror writer Stephen King, Kiss frontman Paul Stanley, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Bryan Adams, songwriter Diane Warren and Joe Elliott from Def Leppard also took to social media to pay tribute.
Additional reporting by AFP
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