The AC/DC Song Angus Young Regrets: ‘Who in Their Right Mind Would Want This to Go Out?’
Angus Young co-founded the band AC/DC in 1973. The rock group has gone on to sell millions of albums, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and won a Grammy Award. Despite the band’s success in music, Young regrets one AC/DC song.
Angus Young regrets AC/DC’s song ‘Love Song’
In 2020, Young was interviewed about AC/DC’s expansive discography in an interview with Vulture. In the interview, Young revealed that he is not fond of the band’s song “Love Song.”
“On our first album, High Voltage, we did a love song called ‘Love Song,'” said Young. “That was very different for us. I didn’t know if we were trying to parody love songs of the time, because Bon [Scott, the band’s original vocalist before his death in 1980] wrote the lyrics. I don’t even remember what the words are.”
Young revealed that AC/DC released the song after being advised it would get radio airplay, but he personally did not agree with that assumption.
“[Here’s a sample: ‘When you smile I see stars in the sky / When you smile I see sunrise.’] I remember that song because the guy who worked for us at our record label told us that’s what was on the local radio at the time — very soft music,” Young told Vulture.
He continued, “His thought we should release that song, because it’ll probably get some airplay. I remember thinking, Who in their right mind would want this to go out?“
‘One saving grace’ did come out of releasing ‘Love Song’
While Young initially regretted putting “Love Song” out, he told Vulture that “one saving grace” came from releasing the song.
“We were very fortunate, though, because all of the radio stations who had seen us live knew this was not who we were. So these stations started to flip the record over and play the other song, which was a cover of a blues standard called ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go.’ We actually scored a hit from the B-side! That was the one saving grace of the song,” Young said.
Angus Young has a favorite AC/DC song
While “Love Song” is probably the AC/DC song the guitarist regrets the most, he does have a couple of favorite songs that the band released.
“Oh, jeez. That can be very tough. I’m biased because I’ve been on them all, you know? [Laughs.] If I was just thinking of the guitar, since I’m a guitar player, I’d say ‘Riff Raff’ The guitar work was a challenge but interesting in the way the song rolled out. That’s my guitar answer,” Young told Vulture.
He added, “But if it’s for a whole song, ‘Thunderstruck’ is a big one. I like that answer.”
AC/DC released the song “Riff Raff” on the 1978 album Powerage. The band released the song “Thunderstruck” in 1990, and it is the lead single on the album The Razors Edge.
