Pop and Rock Star Deaths in 2017

Malcolm Young at left with AC/DC, circa 1979

Malcolm Young

Band: AC/DC

Position: rhythm guitar, vocals

Died: Nov. 18

Cause of death: dementia

Age: 89

Distinctions: Cofounded AC/DC with his brother Angus in 1973 in Australia. Despite their global popularity, the group's songs—"T.N.T." and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" (1976); "Highway to Hell" (1979) and "Hell's Bells (1980)—hardly dented the U.S. charts. But many of their albums—Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (No. 3, 1976), Highway to Hell (No. 17, 1979), Back in Black (No. 4, 1980), For Those About to Rock We Salute You (No. 1, 1981), The Razor's Edge (No. 2, 1990), Ballbreaker (No. 4, 1995), Stiff Upper Lip (No. 7, 2000), Black Ice (No. 1, 2008) and Rock or Bust (No. 3, 2014)—hit the Top 10. Black Ice won the 2009 Grammy for Best Rock Album. AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

Steve Bloom

Steve Bloom

Publisher of CelebStoner.com, former editor of High Times and Freedom Leaf and co-author of Pot Culture and Reefer Movie Madness.