Few bands can claim to be more representative of heavy rock than AC/DC. Over the years, the Australian group has undergone several lineup changes, some by choice and some forcibly. The only constant has been the band’s tenacious rock ‘n’ roll ethos, which revolves around founding brothers Malcolm and Angus Young.
The brothers eventually drew inspiration from harder rock artists such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Their initial inspiration was vintage 1950s rock & roll. Like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and most other 1960s pop rock artists, the Young Brothers were strongly drawn to Chuck Berry. They also found Little Richard appealing.
In a 2001 Rolling Stone interview, Angus Young revealed what music makes his “toes tapping.”
“I plug into a lot of old rock and roll,” he said. “Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis.” I adore all of that stuff. If I have the opportunity and am on my way to a gig, I will put one of their tapes on. Because they’re good vibe meters, and I still enjoy using them.”
When early AC/DC frontman Scott passed away from acute alcohol intoxication in 1980, the band chose to continue. They selected English singer Brian Johnson as a replacement. The Youngs’ selection was clear because Scott had previously commended Johnson. He praised Johnson for having a voice similar to his hero, Little Richard.
“I remember the first time I heard Brian’s name was from Bon,” guitarist Angus said in an interview with BraveWords. “Bon mentioned that he had once been in England touring with a band. Brian had been in a band called Geordie, and Bon had said, ‘Brian Johnson, he was a great rock and roll singer in the style of Little Richard’.” That was Bon’s idol, Little Richard.”
“I believe when he saw Brian at the time, Bon thought, ‘Well, he’s a guy who understands what rock and roll is about'”. He mentioned this to us in Australia. I believe when we decided to continue, Brian was the first name Malcolm and I came up with, so we decided to see if we could find him.”
Angus Young narrowly surpasses Richard to the top rank. This is logical given that the former pioneered guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll, while the latter preferred the piano.
In the video clip below, Young recounts his early introduction to the guitar. He performs a classic Chuck Berry riff before praising the late guitarist as an idol to himself and many of his peers. “For rock and roll, the obvious is Chuck Berry,” he said. “I think for rock ‘n’ roll, especially at the time, Chuck was the bulk of people’s idol.”
