Angus McKinnon Young is a Scottish-born Australian musician, and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band
AC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
. He was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
along with other members of AC/DC in 2003 and is known for his energetic performances, schoolboy-uniform stage outfits, and his popularization of
Chuck Berry'sCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
duckwalkThe duckwalk is a stage an element of guitar showmanship popularized by Chuck Berry.While the origins of the duckwalk have been traced as far back as T-Bone Walker who already during the 1930s performed dance moves while playing his guitar, it was Chuck Berry who made the duckwalk popular and who...
. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Angus Young at # 96 in their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2011 he was ranked as the 24th best guitarist on their new list of 100 greatest guitarists.
Life and career
Angus Young (1955), the youngest of seven children of William Young (1911–1985) and Margaret Young (1913–1988), was born in
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland. Prior to turning 15, he had already dropped out of school. He moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia in 1963 with his older brothers
MalcolmMalcolm Young is a Scottish-born Australian guitarist, best known as a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, along with the other members of AC/DC...
and George, who also became musicians, and their older sister Margaret. Older brother
AlexAlexander Young aka George Alexander was a Scottish guitarist and session musician.Alexander Young was born in Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland...
, another musician, stayed in Scotland. Angus first started playing on banjos but re-strung them with six strings. Angus first started playing guitar on a cheap acoustic model purchased second-hand by his mother. Angus's first Gibson SG was bought second-hand circa 1970 from a music shop just down the street from his home:
Formation of AC/DC
Prior to forming AC/DC, Young played in a local group called Kantuckee. Kantuckee's lineup included Bob McGlynn (vocals), Angus Young (guitar), Jon Stevens (bass) & Trevor James (drums). This was the first band to record Demo takes for Stevie Wrights classic "Evie" at the request of George Young. The band split and was later called Tantrum with the following line up: Mark Sneddon (vocals-guitar), Angus Young (guitar), Jon Stevens (bass) and Trevor James (drums).. He was 18 when he and his 20 year old brother Malcolm formed AC/DC in 1973 with Angus on lead guitar, Malcolm on rhythm guitar, Colin Burgess on drums,
Larry Van KriedtLarry Van Kriedt was the first bassist with rock band AC/DC. He was recruited at the time of the group's formation in 1973, joining Malcolm Young , Angus Young , Dave Evans and Colin Burgess...
on bass guitar and
Dave EvansDave Evans is an Australian singer best known as the original lead singer of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1973-1974.-AC/DC:...
on vocals.
Can I Sit Next To You Girl, their first single, was later re-recorded with
Bon ScottRonald Belford "Bon" Scott was a Scottish-born Australian rock musician, best known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980...
as their vocalist. Many say they got the name AC/DC after seeing the letters "AC/DC" on the back of a sewing machine owned by their sister, Margaret. Others credit the name to George Young's wife, Sandra.
Angus tried a number of stage costumes, such as
Spider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
,
ZorroZorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
, a
gorillaGorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
, and a parody of
SupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, named Super-Ang, before settling on his signature schoolboy look. To match this image the press and public were told that Young was born in 1959, not 1955. The original uniform was from his secondary school,
Ashfield Boys High SchoolAshfield Boys' High School is a Public, Secondary school for boys', located in Ashfield, an Inner West suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It can be found on Liverpool Road, just off Parramatta Road.-History:...
in Sydney. By 1973, Angus had long left school. His sister Margaret suggested he wear the uniform after Malcolm asked each band member to come up with their own gimmick. Angus would come home from school and not change out of his uniform and practice his guitar playing for hours. His sister Margaret thought it odd to see him playing guitar in his school uniform, but suggested Angus wear the outfit on stage. The first satchel that Angus wore on stage was a brown, leather satchel purchased from a shop called "Express Shoe Repairs", in the suburb where Angus lived (still in existence today). The satchel has a stamp inside bearing the name of the shop.
Personal life and recent events
Although Young prefers to keep his life private and out of the media, it is known that he lives in Kangaroo Point in the Sutherland Shire, in Sydney, Australia and also has a home in
AaltenAalten is a municipality and a village in the eastern Netherlands. The former municipalities of Bredevoort and Dinxperlo have been merged with Aalten....
, Netherlands where his wife grew up. Young married his Dutch wife, Ellen, in 1980 shortly before
Bon ScottRonald Belford "Bon" Scott was a Scottish-born Australian rock musician, best known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980...
died at the age of 33 after a night of heavy drinking in London. Although a smoker, Angus is a well-known teetotaller.
On 24 August 2006, Young received
Kerrang!Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine's Legend Award from the editor, Paul Brannigan. Brannigan called AC/DC "one of the most important and influential rock bands in history".
Equipment
Guitars
Angus Young has used
Gibson SGAt the launch of the SG in 1961, Gibson offered four variants of the SG; the SG Junior , the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom. However, Gibson's current core variants as of 2010 are the SG Standard and the SG Special...
s in various forms (his original, and the basis for his current signature model, was a 1970–72 SG) throughout his career. He also used a modified version of the SG called the Jaydee SG, which was made custom for Angus by Jaydee guitars. The Jaydee SG featured signature lightning bolt inlays on the fretboard. Gibson made a custom SG for Angus with lightning bolt inlays to replace the Jaydee SG. He is rarely seen with another guitar, though he also owns Fender Telecasters,
Gibson FirebirdThe Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by Gibson from 1963 to the present.-History:The Gibson Guitar Corporation released several new styles during the 1950s to compete with Fender's instruments, such as the Telecaster and Stratocaster. After success with the Les Paul in...
s and ES-335s. When AC/DC played a jam of "Rock me Baby" with the Rolling Stones in 2003, he played a Gibson ES-355 borrowed from
Keith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, perhaps one of the few times he was without an SG onstage. Young's 1970 SG has T Top pickups. Another 1964 SG that he used on the recording of Ballbreaker, has patent # pickups. All of these are vintage-output
AlnicoAlnico is an acronym referring to iron alloys which in addition to iron are composed primarily of aluminium , nickel and cobalt , hence al-ni-co, with the addition of copper, and sometimes titanium. Alnico alloys are ferromagnetic, with a high coercivity and are used to make permanent magnets...
II or V pickups with matched coils typically reading 7.5k ohm. All of his pickups "...are the original ones that came on the guitar(s)." Angus uses Ernie Ball SUPER SLINKY Nickel Wound guitar strings (RPS-9 being gauges .009-.042). He is also using Ernie Ball regular slinky str. gauge 10-46
Angus Young SG
Angus Young and
Gibson Guitar CorporationThe Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
have collaborated to make the Angus Young SG. It features a pickup designed by Young himself (the Angus Young Signature Humbucker) in the bridge position, and a '57 Classic
HumbuckerA humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series...
in the neck. The neck has "lightning bolt" inlays.
Amplifiers
Young mainly uses a reissued version of the
Marshall 1959The Marshall Super Lead Model 1959 is a guitar amplifier head made by Marshall. One of the famous Marshall Plexis, it was introduced in 1965 and with its associated 4x12" cabinets gave rise to the "Marshall stack."-History:...
with model 1960 AX and BX 4x12 cabinets loaded with Celestion G12M "Greenbacks".
Influence
Angus Young has stated that he first began playing guitar when, "I was little, teeny. I would sort of dabble around five or six years old. That's when I started hearing
Little RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
."
Young's energetic guitar style has been an influence on many young
rock n roll-Personnel:*Ryan Adams - Bass, Composer, Costume Design, Guitar, Keyboards, Multi Instruments, Vocals, Vocals *Billie Joe Armstrong - Vocals *Melissa Auf der Maur - Vocals...
guitarists. When Canadian band
AnvilAnvil is a Canadian heavy metal band comprising Steve "Lips" Kudlow , Robb Reiner , and Glenn Five...
were asked what it was like to tour with AC/DC, they mentioned that Angus Young has a big heart and should bring AC/DC to Calgary.
In an interview with The Guitar Show, Angus noted his influences to include his brother
Malcolm YoungMalcolm Young is a Scottish-born Australian guitarist, best known as a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, along with the other members of AC/DC...
,
Chuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
and
Freddie KingFreddie King , thought to have been born as Frederick Christian, originally recording as Freddy King, and nicknamed "the Texas Cannonball", was an influential African-American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert...
, while playing licks relating to
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
,
John Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
and
The KinksThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
"
You Really Got Me"You Really Got Me" is a rock song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band, The Kinks. It was released on 4th August 1964 as the group's third single, and reached Number 1 on the UK singles chart the next month, remaining for two weeks...
".
Young has indicated that he was also influenced by
Keith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, as well as
Chuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's style, including his banter with audiences, guitar playing and duck walk.
When the band would cover
Chuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
songs in their early years, audiences would recognise the song, while noting their renditions were very different to the source material.
Style
Angus Young's playing style is very straight blues playing in both the minor and major pentatonic
twelve bar bluesThe 12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music, including the blues. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics and phrase and chord structure and duration...
. His style is spiced by additional non-blues tricks. In AC/DC's earlier recordings, power chords can be heard in songs such as "
T.N.T."T.N.T." is a single recorded in 1975 by the hard rock band AC/DC, taken from their Australian album T.N.T. and the international version of High Voltage. The song was written by Bon Scott, Angus Young and Malcolm Young...
" and "
It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)"It's a Long Way to the Top " is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the first track of the group's album T.N.T., released in December 1975, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott...
". He also utilises touches of Scottish folk in his playing, and pull-off
arpeggioAn arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s (pull-offs, played one-handed) are a popular trick, appearing in songs such as "
Who Made Who"Who Made Who" is a song and a single by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, taken from their 1986 album, Who Made Who. The 12-inch single format of the single features an extended mix of the song and can be found in the Deluxe Edition of AC/DC's Backtracks Boxset, on Disc 1, Studio Rarities...
", "
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the title track and first track of their album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott....
", "Sin City", "
Let There Be Rock"Let There Be Rock" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the third and title track of their album Let There Be Rock, released in March 1977, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott....
" (live) . In 1976, the band recorded an instrumental arrangement of the Scottish traditional song "
Loch Lomond"The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond", or simply "Loch Lomond" for short, is a well-known traditional Scottish song . It was first published in 1841 in Vocal Melodies of Scotland....
", retitled "Fling Thing", which has appeared in their stage act over the years. The title refers to the
Highland FlingThis dance is now performed at dance competitions and events around the world. It is no longer danced on a shield, but it is still the goal of the dancer to stay in the same spot throughout the dance. The Highland Fling is danced at almost all competition levels, from Primary to Premier. It is also...
. Young also provides backing vocals along with Malcolm and bassist
Cliff WilliamsClifford Williams is an English bassist and backing vocalist, who has been a member of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC since mid-1977. He had started his professional music career in 1967 and was previously in the British groups Home and Bandit. His first studio album with AC/DC was Powerage...
on songs such as "
T.N.T."T.N.T." is a single recorded in 1975 by the hard rock band AC/DC, taken from their Australian album T.N.T. and the international version of High Voltage. The song was written by Bon Scott, Angus Young and Malcolm Young...
" and "
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the title track and first track of their album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott....
".
A common criticism of
AC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
is that their songs are excessively simple and formulaic. In reply, Young stated in an interview with the
Atlanta Gazette in 1979:
Stage antics
Angus Young is famous for his wild onstage antics: intense jumps and running back and forth across the stage while playing his guitar. Young would clamber on to Bon Scott's or Brian Johnson's shoulders during concerts and they would make their way through the audience with smoke streaming from a satchel on his own back, while he played an extended improvised guitar solo, usually during the song "Rocker" with Scott or during "
Let There Be Rock"Let There Be Rock" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the third and title track of their album Let There Be Rock, released in March 1977, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott....
" with Johnson. He frequently does
Chuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's duck walk, as well as a kind of spasm, during which he throws himself to the ground, kicking, shaking, and spinning in circles, while playing the guitar. He first feigned a spasm to avoid embarrassment when he tripped over a lead at a gig.
External links