Easybeats songwriter, AC/DC producer George Young dead at 70

Credit: K & K Ulf Kruger OHG

Credit: K & K Ulf Kruger OHG

George Young, an Australian songwriter who co-wrote the 1965 hit "Friday on My Mind" for the Easybeats and later was a producer for AC/DC, has died, The Guardian reported. He was 70.

Young's death was reported on Facebook by the music publishing company Alberts, which has both the Easybeats and AC/DC in its musical catalog.

It is with pain in our heart that we have to announce the passing of our beloved brother and mentor George Young....

Posted by AC/DC on Sunday, October 22, 2017

Young was the brother of AC/DC’s Angus and Malcolm Young.

With the Easybeats, he and fellow band member Harry Vanda produced songs like "Yesterday's Hero" and "Love Is in the Air" for John Paul Young and "Evie" for Stevie Wright.

George Young played bass with his younger brothers during the early years of AC/DC, and then produced several of the band’s more successful releases, including “High Voltage,” “T.N.T.,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “Let There Be Rock,” and “Powerage,” The Guardian reported.

GEORGE YOUNG It is with great sadness that Alberts acknowledge the passing of George Young. A consummate...

Posted by Alberts on Sunday, October 22, 2017

"Without his help and guidance, there would not have been an AC/DC," the band wrote on its website. "As a musician, songwriter, producer, adviser and much, much more, you could not ask for a more dedicated and professional man."

Young was born in Scotland in 1946 and migrated to Australia with his family as a teenager, The Guardian reported. The Easybeats formed after Young met Vanda in Sydney.

The Easybeats broke up in 1969. Young and Vanda were inducted into the inaugural Aria hall of fame in 1988; the Easybeats were inducted in 2005.

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