Alongside his brother Malcolm, the guitarist Angus Young formed AC/DC back in 1973, a band which would become one of the most influential of all time. Their guitar playing and songwriting was crucial for the band’s sound and they became a huge influence for countless guitar players.
Angus had the chance to see many incredible artists over the decades and he even once named that according to him could be compared to Hendrix.
The guitarist that Angus Young compared to Jimi Hendrix
The guitarist praised by Angus Young was the late legendary Eddie Van Halen. He praised the band on the hardcover of the photo book “Eddie Van Halen” by Neil Zlozower (Via VNHD). Angus called him an “innovator”, like Jimi Hendrix was in his opinion.
“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. 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.
He continued:
“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. 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 to 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 song-there’s a bit of everything. 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 was a big AC/DC fan and he became a good friend of the brothers Young, especially Malcolm, whom he used to say was the heart and soul of the band. He even revealed many times that his favorite album of the group was “Powerage” (1978).
He said Eddie’s guitar playing was “pure wizardry”
Eddie sadly passed away in 2020 at the age of 65 and almost everyone in Rock and Roll music paid their tribute. One of them, of course, was Angus who said in an official statement that his guitar playing was “pure wizardry”.
“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,” Angus Young said.
Angus and Eddie curiously had the same age. They were both born back in 1955 and formed their bands almost at the same time. AC/DC was formed in 1973 and Van Halen in 1972.