Everyone will miss the era when Angus Young used to perform in his schoolboy uniform in the late 70s. Young formed AC/DC in 1973 which became one of the greatest bands to ever exist in the world. The group found success in 1979 with their Highway to Hell and finally gained international fame, and Angus has played a prominent role in it.
To carry such a band in mainstream they’ll need a set of excellent musicians and Angus was one of them. He was the guitarist of AC/DC and his iconic riffs and energetic performances were some key elements that the band needed. Angus grew up in a musical family, so he also was influenced by musicians from the ’60s.
The ’60s era had some incredible guitarists. It was a prominent era for rock and roll and it gave birth to some legendary guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and the greatest guitarist of all time Jimmy Page.
The guitarist that Angus Young compared to Jimi Hendrix
Throughout his career, Young has performed with multiple artists, and he recalls one specific musician who was close to Jimi Hendrix from Angus’ perspective, and that musician was the legendary Eddie Van Halen.
On the hardcover of the photo book “Eddie Van Halen” written by Neil Zlozower, Angus explained the qualities that Van Halen had and he even praised him by saying “innovator” similar to Jimi Hendrix.
“AC/DC played on a bill with Van Halen back in 1978 or 1979 for a Bill Graham Day on the Green show. I didn’t know much about Van Halen then except that I remember seeing film clips of them, especially the one of Eddie playing the solo piece, ‘Eruption, and I was very impressed”, Angus said.
He continued, “I didn’t meet Eddie until years later when there was a Monsters of Rock open-air festival in England. I was shocked to hear he liked my playing because I’ve never rated myself as a guitarist.”
Angus then explained how Jimi Hendrix changed the way of playing guitar and Eddie came along and made many people follow in his footsteps. “Eddie is an innovator. When I grew up we had a lot of guys from England who were great players, like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck. And then, of course, when Jimi Hendrix came along, he changed the game.” he said.
“I’d put Eddie in that category of being an innovator like Hendrix. He changed the game for his style of playing. When Eddie came along he spawned so many imitators. Like Hendrix, suddenly you started to see people wanting to buy the same guitars he played and also play his licks. He turned the rule book upside down in terms of his approach”
There was a lot of experimentation in his playing. Eddie also crosses into that avant-garde thing, which puts him in the same category as Hendrix. ‘Eruption’ is a favorite track. He’s got everything characteristic of his playing in that there’s a bit of everything,” he added.
Angus then stated that he thought of Eddie as similar to Hendrix. “When Jimi Hendrix came along it was like, ‘Where did this guy come from?’ and I think that was the same feeling with Eddie. When Eddie appeared on the scene, every guitarist I ran into said, ‘You’ve gotta hear this guy!” Angus Young said.
Eddie Van Halen and AC/Dc were close. They were good friends of each other and in 2009, Eddie also shared his views on AC/DC. Eddie was close with the Young brothers, especially with Malcolm.
Angus Young explains Eddie Van Halen’s guitar-playing style
Rock fans will never forget the day we lost the legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. He passed away at 65 in 2020, and every rock musician paid tribute to the legend, including Angus. He released an official statement explaining Eddie’s unique guitar-playing style.
“Eddie was a guitar wonder, his playing pure wizardry. To the world of music he was a special gift. To those of us fortunate enough to have met him, a very special person. He leaves a big hole in a lot of hearts. To the Van Halen family my heartfelt sympathies,”