AC/DC founding member Malcolm Young dead at 64
FILE – A March 3, 2003 file photo of AC/DC co-founder and guitarist Malcolm Young at an event in London. The band has announced, Saturday Nov. 18, 2017, that 64-year-old Young has died. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Malcolm Young, the rhythm guitarist and guiding force behind the bawdy hard rock band AC/DC who helped create such head-banging anthems as “Highway to Hell,” ”Hells Bells” and “Back in Black,” has died. He was 64.
AC/DC announced the death Saturday on their official Facebook page and website. A representative for the band confirmed that the posts were true. The posts did not say when or where Young died but said the performer had been suffering from dementia. He was diagnosed in 2014.
“It is with deepest sorrow that we inform you of the death of Malcolm Young, beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother. Malcolm had been suffering from Dementia for several years and passed away peacefully with his family by his bedside,” one of the posts read.
The family put out a statement posted on the band’s website calling Young a “visionary who inspired many.”
In a statement from Young’s younger brother Angus, he said, “With enormous dedication and commitment he was the driving force behind the band. As a guitarist, songwriter and visionary he was a perfectionist and a unique man… Malcolm, job well done.”
Leader of the band
FILE – A March 3, 2003 file photo of from left: Malcolm Young, Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams from AC/DC posing for photographers at the Apollo Hammersmith in London. The band has announced, Saturday Nov. 18, 2017, that 64-year-old Young has died. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
While Angus, the group’s school-uniform-wearing lead guitarist, was the public face of the band, Malcolm Young was its key writer and leader, the member the rest of the band watched for onstage changes and cutoffs.
AC/DC were remarkably consistent for over 40 years with its mix of driving hard rock, lusty lyrics and bluesy shuffles, selling over 200 million albums, surviving the loss of its first singer and creating one of the greatest rock records ever in “Back in Black,” the world’s second best-selling album behind Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in 2003. Greg Harris, the president & CEO, issued a statement Saturday that said, “We salute you, Malcom Young. Your blistering guitar shook generations and united us with sonic anthems that will ring forever.”
‘An unsung icon’
Several musicians also paid their respects to Young on social media, writing about his influence and impact in music.
“It is a sad day in rock and roll. Malcolm Young was my friend and the heart and soul of AC/DC. I had some of the best times of my life with him on our 1984 European tour,” Eddie Van Halen tweeted on Saturday. “He will be missed and my deepest condolences to his family, bandmates and friends.”
“The driving engine of AC/DC has died. A tragic end for a sometimes unsung icon. One of the true greats. RIP,” Paul Stanley, of Kiss, wrote on Twitter.
Scott Ian, of Anthrax, posted a photo of his Malcolm Young tattoo and said: “what he means to me is unquantifiable.”
Mike Portnoy, co-founder of Dream Theater, called him “one of the great rhythm guitar players of all time.” NVG
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