Malcolm Young (1953 - 2017)
Malcolm Young is arguably the most important musician this country has ever produced. Big call? Yes. But then, Malcolm Young was a giant.
He co-wrote EVERY AC/DC song, and you simply cannot overstate the importance of AC/DC in the history of music. They inspired so many. Alongside the Stones, they were the high-water mark of rock and roll music. Not rock music; rock AND ROLL music. Rock is solid; Roll is liquid. Put them together, you've got the blood and bone of music. Few artists manage to do it. Not only could AC/DC do it; they defined it. They owned it.
Riff after riff, hook after hook, quip after quip. Their songs will live forever, offering every kid or kid at heart the glee that comes from hollering about hell, highways and being dirty.
Not only did Malcolm write, but Malcolm played. He was the sinews that moved the bone; the veins that moved the blood. By way of example, listen to Thunderstruck; arguably the last, truly great song the band recorded. With its neo-classical arpeggios and chanted backing vocals, the song always had the potential to be incredible, but listen carefully to it. It isn't until Malcolm comes in with a truly extraordinary rhythmic riff that the song truly shifts into high gear. It just hurtles down the highway at breakneck speed, and never looks back. It might not seem it on first listen, but that riff is genius. Pure genius.
Dementia is a bitch of a thing. On his last tour in 2008, it took everything Malcolm had to play songs that he'd played for most of his adult life. But he did it. Then he retired. He retreated. And now he's gone, at only 64.
Malcolm wasn't showy; he left that to little brother, Angus. But he was the cornerstone. Not just of his own band, but an entire genre. A true patriarch. Irreplaceable.
I'm going to go listen to Thunderstruck. And Back in Black. And Shoot to Thrill, Hells Bells, Highway to Hell, Dirty Deeds, and Jailbreak. And It's a Long Way to the Top.
You made it to the top, Malcolm. Thanks for sharing the view.