AC/DC's Angus and Malcolm Young have topped this week's Billboard's Hard Rock Songwriters chart. The brothers made it to the No. 1 position through their songwriting credits on two tracks on the latest Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, "Shot In The Dark" and "Realize", both of which are taken from AC/DC's "Power Up" LP. Elsewhere, on the Hard Rock Producers chart, "Power Up" producer Brendan O'Brien once again took the No. 1 slot, thanks to his work on the aforementioned two songs. The weekly Hard Rock Songwriters and Hard Rock Producers charts (which began in June 2019) are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart; As with Billboard's yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings). "Power Up" came out in November. The follow-up to 2014's "Rock Or Bust" features AC/DC's 2020 lineup of Brian Johnson (vocals), Phil Rudd (drums), Cliff Williams (bass), Angus Young (guitar) and Stevie Young (guitar). "Power Up" is a tribute to Malcolm, who died in 2017 from effects of dementia at age 64. Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on "Power Up", along with Angus. In December 2014, Malcolm revealed he had dementia which forced him to retire from AC/DC. His nephew Stevie Young stepped into Malcolm's position. Angus later said that he realized during the recording of the band's 2008 album "Black Ice" that his brother's faculties were impaired. Malcolm died in November 2017 after failing health for several years. Hundreds of mourners gathered for his funeral in Sydney, Australia, including Angus and other members of the Young family, along with Johnson, AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams. Malcolm was remembered as a "humble man" and "musical mastermind," with friend David Albert saying in his eulogy that Malcolm's impact on the music industry was nothing short of momentous. Young's beloved Gretsch guitar, "The Beast," rested on his coffin during the service. "Power Up" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and 2014's "Rock Or Bust".
Continue reading...
Continue reading...
