George Young (rock musician)

George Young
Birth name George Redburn Young
Born (1946-11-06) 6 November 1946
Glasgow, Scotland
Origin Sydney, Australia
Genres Rock
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments Guitar, bass guitar, piano
Years active 1964–92 (as musician)
Associated acts The Easybeats, Marcus Hook Roll Band, AC/DC, Flash and the Pan

George Redburn Young (born 6 November 1946) is an Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. Born in Scotland, he moved to Australia with his family as a teenager, and became a naturalised citizen. He is best known as a member of the 1960s Australian rock band The Easybeats, and as a co-writer of the international hits "Friday on My Mind" and "Love Is in the Air," the latter recorded by John Paul Young (no relation). Young was also the producer of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, formed by his brothers Malcolm and Angus Young.[1]

Career

George Young was born in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland. His father was William Young, and his mother Margaret (her maiden name was also Young); the family emigrated to Australia in 1963. George's older brother Alex was later a member of the group Grapefruit.[1] His oldest brother Stephen was the father of Stevie Young, who would also be a member of AC/DC.

Starting his career in Sydney, and attending Sefton High School as his secondary school, George Young first achieved international success in the 1960s as the rhythm guitarist in the band The Easybeats; Young co-wrote nearly all of their songs, first with singer Stevie Wright, then later with lead guitarist, Harry Vanda. In 2007, the Australian Musician magazine selected the meeting of Vanda and Young in a Sydney migrants hostel in 1964 as the most significant event in Australian pop and rock music history.[2]

After the band dissolved in 1970, Vanda & Young concentrated on writing and producing pop and rock songs for other recording artists, and under various stage names, most notably Flash and the Pan. One such recording studio based group was their own Marcus Hook Roll Band, with brothers, Malcolm and Angus Young.[1]

Albert Productions

With Vanda and businessman Ted Albert, they formed Albert Productions in Sydney in 1973.[1] He also helped his younger brothers with their AC/DC band/project that went on to become a massive success internationally.[1] George Young famously declared to his younger brothers "that he didn't believe a band can ever call itself a band until it's done at least 200 gigs".[3] He became famous by co-producing AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Angels, John Paul Young and many other acts. He co-produced AC/DC's early albums, such as Let There Be Rock, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, T.N.T., Powerage and High Voltage, and played as AC/DC's bass guitarist for a short stint, early in their career.[1] He produced AC/DC's 2000 album Stiff Upper Lip.[1]

Honours

In 1988 he was inducted, along with Harry Vanda, into the inaugural class of the ARIA Hall of Fame.[4] After retiring from the music industry in the late 1990s, George Young resides mainly in Portugal with his family.[5]

Selected list of Vanda and Young productions

Selected list of Vanda and Young songs

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wall, Mick (2012). AC/DC: Hell Aint a Bad Place to Be. London: Orion Publishing group. ISBN 9781409115359.
  2. ↑ Australia's great rock moments
  3. ↑ Clinton Walker. Highway To Hell. - Chapter 8 - "The Young's". (ISBN 0 330 36377 8).
  4. ↑ Hall of Fame
  5. ↑ John Tait. Vanda & Young, Inside Australia's Hit Factory. UNSW Press, Australia, 2010. (ISBN 978 1 74223 217 1)

External links

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