The AC/DC song that Wolfgang Van Halen bonded with his dad over: “He was laughing so hard”
“Dad loved that song.”
Image: Michele Sandberg / Getty Images
Wolfgang Van Halen has opened up about the AC/DC song that apparently got him and his dad “laughing so hard” during his childhood.
Speaking in a new interview with Louder, Wolfgang says that the song was his “introduction to AC/DC and the wonder that is Bon Scott and his unique singing voice.”
He recalls: “When I was about seven I was on a Winnebago trip with my mom and dad. We were driving to the Grand Canyon. We pulled over somewhere while my mom went to a store or the bathroom, and my dad said: ‘Hey, check this out.’ And he puts on Big Balls.”
“He was laughing so hard,” says the rocker. “Which made me laugh so hard. Dad loved that song. Every time he heard the bit where Bon goes: ‘Ooooh…’ he just cracked up.”
“Dirty Deeds is such a great album,” Wolfgang says of the 1976 record. “It’s the one that cemented my love of AC/DC. The title song is fantastic – I love the solo where Angus [Young] just hammers on. And Problem Child was always a real big song for me.”
The rocker also shared his love for the late Bon Scott, saying: “Brian Johnson is a wonderful human being and an incredible singer, but there’s just something about Bon Scott. He’s got that sleazy, amazing voice that could just never be replicated.”
“That really resonated with me and my dad.”
Wolfgang says that while he’s met AC/DC as a band just once on their Black Ice tour, it was a “huge honour”, especially since he got to meet his favourite member Malcolm Young.
“I see myself as a rhythm guitar player first and foremost,” he explains, “And he’s the greatest rhythm guitar player ever. The groove that man had was untouchable. He was the backbone that made AC/DC what it was.”