Another of Malcolm's legacies and also often overlooked was his phenomenal contribution to AC/DC's songwriting process.
 
I remember reading an article written around the time his dementia was first announced which correctly pointed out that not only does Malcolm receive a writing credit (alongside Angus) for the vast majority of AC/DC's original material, he was also responsible for most of the band's best-known and most-loved signature riffs. Ironic I suppose that his 'guitar hero' brother is nearly always the one associated with those riffs.

The nice thing about Malc's playing was he didn't (like most people would assume from their sound) rely solely on power chords. He used whatever chord formation sounded heaviest.
 
So although his playing was "simple" it was much more complex and frankly wonderful than it gets credit for.
 
And Angus is a brilliant player but without that sweet, textured bottom end a lot of what he did would not have worked nearly as well.

Yep.  I love the sound of some of those chords like the F#/D from Highway to Hell (playing an open D with your thumb on the low F#).

craigb
Yep.  I love the sound of some of those chords like the F#/D from Highway to Hell (playing an open D with your thumb on the low F#).

Ha! That is pretty much how I always play my D's.
 
I'm also a thumber for 6 string barre chords (unless there is some riff I want to launch into that benefits from a proper barre as it's foundation).

In more irony, one month from today, Keith Richards will be 74...

Almost every time I see bands play live, I see guys who can play faster and flashier than each other, but half decent rhythm players really are few and far between. No wonder that Malcolm's genius was under-appreciated.
 
I remember reading interviews with Angus where he was constantly singing Malcolm's praises, saying that what his older brother was playing was actually much harder than his own parts and crediting him with dialing in his tone in the studio in the early days.

Jeepers! I'm sitting here listening to old Bon era AC/DC tunes in memorium and realizing how insanely similar ole Malc's chord voicings are to mine. I never actually considered Malcom anywhere near the top of my "influences" list but I think he somehow wormed his way into my brain as a young greaser (I started listening to AC/DC when I was like 7 or so).
 
Wow. Thanks, Malc.
 
At this moment I'm thinking now in the top 5.

Apparently David Cassidy is on his way out as well, currently in an induced coma with organ failure.