Why Didn't The AC/DC Style Originate In America?

Except the guys who started Foghat are British, not American.

 

But they weren't part of the genesis, and most came 9-11, 15, etc., years after that genesis.

Rock and roll was a natural outgrowth of the commercializing and commingling of all the US' roots musics( country, bluegrass, blues, jazz, gospel, r&b, jump, polka, etc.,) Roots musics that NO other nation had.

 

This is from'77, Zep, Sabbath, BOC, GFR, Budgie, Hendrix, Nugent, Cactus, Scorpions, Nazareth, UFO, Foghat, etc., had already, or were already going down that road. AC/DC innovated nothing just, maybe further reduced and commercialized a hard rock sound that was already in play.

 

ZZ Top?

 

Unknown it the UK, popular back in the day in the States, was my thinking.

 

I chose that track simply to illustrate the sound not the year. I could just as easily have chosen this track from 1974. I still don’t think any of the acts mentioned in previous posts sounded like this at all pre-1974.

 

Of course not. Only AC/DC sounds like AC/DC. But to me this doesn't sound any heavier than other British and American Bands of the time like Sabbath, ZZ Top, Mountain, Montrose, UFO, Zeppelin, Rush, et cetera.
The Youngs just found a formula with which they recorded full albums and that you happen to love. That's all there is to it in my opinion.
And they're the first to acknowledge Chuck Berry's and the Stones' influence in their sound.
The year is important though. This '74 song is closer in sound to the Stones than 'Whole Lotta Rosie' from '77 or 'Hell's Bells' from '81. They became heavier as time went by.

 

If you want bands that sound exactly like this, you're being unreasonable. All bands borrow extensively and then (if they're lucky) find their own noise, and I don't get why you're so hung up on the USA being the originator of a sound that had already been copied a thousand times.
Both myself and others have posted The Easybeats and The Move as obvious precursors, even Kiss wouldn't be out of place, even Zeppelin, The Dolls, The MC5, Dust, Blue Cheer, even The Stooges.
Listen to this live Stooges track from 1971, excuse the lousy recording.
https://youtu.be/v5_JaTr6myQ?list=RDv5_JaTr6myQ

 

But going back to my original question, I asked why didn't the AC/DC style (perhaps I should have written the question as exact sound) happen in America way before it happened in Australia, or even the UK. From further reading today, according to Wikipedia:

Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and loudness. The lyrics and performances are sometimes associated with aggression and machismo.

IMO, the answer to the question is American conservatism, which still exists. As an example, I enjoy old Britcom television shows and have noticed that even back in the 1970's nudity was shown. In 2021, in America, this still hasn't happened. I think mainstream America (especially in the 1950s through the 1970's) was very conservative. Sure there were heavier sounding rock bands, but were they getting radio airplay? I can't answer this question, because I wasn't alive LOL. I tend to suspect that any heavier bands (I'm thinking of 'Sister Ray' off of 'White Light/White Heat' by the VU as an example of a heavier sound) were truly an underground phenomenon. Since America was (is) so conservative, this gave other countries the opportunity to crank up the volume and progress at a faster rate, to the point where a lot of the heavier stuff was being imported into the US from other countries. I could point to punk rock as another example, I think. Whey didn't that happen in America? Again, I think conservatism (not to be confused with political conservatism). This is just my humble theory, YMMV.

 

I think everyone here has given the OP reasons why AC/DC has never been considered innovative but he/she is not accepting any of them so, to me, I think this thread is a roundabout way of giving more credit to AC/DC. Being one of the biggest selling music acts all time is not good enough - now the OP would like acknowledgment in their artistry as well as their commercial appeal.

I don't know about you zphage or anyone else here but I've never heard of AC/DC getting credit for starting a new trend or being considered innovative. I could be totally wrong and their are tons of fans and press saying this band was innovative, but I haven't ever seen this type of comment before.

EDIT: I see now American conservatism and heavy metal being cited. I'm lost in this thread maybe I'll shut up now.

 

I get your point, but AC/DC have nothing to do with heavy metal. And even in 'conservative' America there were hard rock bands that were more adventurous, innovative and heavier that AC/DC. Maybe not as successful, but you asked about sound, not commercial appeal.
AC/DC just developed something that clicks inside you. And I have no reason to see why it couldn't develop anywhere. It just happened down under.
Great, great band. But innovative? American sounding without being American? Heavier than everyone else?
No, no, and no.

 

About why punk rock didn't happen in America. Go listen to The Seeds or The Count Five or Shadows of Knight, then listen to Ramones or any number of the early CBGB bands, especially early Television.
Of course heavy bands got played on FM radio in the late 60's. Maybe not stuff like "White Light/White Heat" but certainly Zeppelin, Mountain, Mott, Iron Butterfly, Blue Cheer, even the MC5 or Dust or Sir Lord Baltimore. A lot of it was regional play, so if a certain area had a favorite son (or daughter) heavy band they would get played there.

 

Actually, i think the entire premise is flawed. The explosion of rock bands made it necessary for bands to find their own sound,
to explore individual influences, and combine things in new ways. The reason AC/DC's style sounds like
AC/DC is because nobody else sounded like that. That's what bands do, find a new sound.

The other part i disagree with is that there is a "country of origin" sound to rock in the first place. Yes, the spark for rock and roll began in the USA,
but not really, it started in the South, based on the history we all know. But once it started, the revolution went everywhere.

Besides, that fact is, the style of music bands evolve is more local than national. Seattle grunge, San Francisco Psychedelic, New York Hip Hop,
Chicago Blues, they're all American but what makes their sound is "local".

So is there really anything "Canadian sounding" about Rush? I'd argue no. Same with AC/DC, or tons of other bands from smaller english speaking
countries outside of the USA that didn't have a large enough population to have dozens of local scenes in their own country. They're local bands
that went international to find a bigger audience and caught on world-wide.

 

Try Foghat Live!

 

That's their biggest seller. I prefer the studio stuff, personally though. Worth a listen nonetheles.

 

I saw them live about four times in the 70's early 80's and they are so much better live. This is the band you want at your party!

 

I'd love to have seen them in concert in their prime. Their live album's not as good as the studio ones though. At least to my ears.

 

I consider this as their best song.

 

I do believe Bon was a big fan of a certain fellow Scotsman...

 

And how about The Faces?

 

The live version of this song from 1978 was the thing that made me and HS friends instant fans. Before this, well maybe we knew who they were, but this song got so much airplay, then we bought the album, and it was cruising music... Yes, it was so different, hard, naughty - everything a seventeen year old boy would want!

 

Direct DNA .

 

Pretty sure we could close the thrad now.

OPs premise has been revealed as odd and AC/DC came from Australia because they did.

 

They were also influenced by Australian late 60s early 70s psychedelic blues rock Bands Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs Lobby Loyd Chain LA De Das and many others.

 

Chain deserve more love man