Malcolm Young was AC/DC. They could not be AC/DC without him. A revolving door of drummers, a few different vocalists, but take Malcolm out of there and they do not exist, IMO.
True, everybody talks about Bon and Brian, and Angus always has the spotlight with the spastic schoolboy angst but the truth is that Malcolm made the riffs. He preferred to stay back near the drum riser and hold that rhythm section accountable. Not even a mob boss could lock everything down tighter than Malcolm, Cliff, and whichever drummer they had at any given time. I never was a huge fan of Angus; I appreciated him but I always had a ton more respect for Malcolm because he just did his thing, did it better than anyone else, and didn't showboat, bullshit, or braggert his way through any of it.
Malcolm did more with 4 chords than all the other Rock guitarists of his generation together. And did it with fuggin STYLE and TRUTH.
The world of Rock music owes a huge debt to this man, and we'll sing loud and proud all of his riffs. RIP Malcolm Young. We thank you so very much for your gifts to us.