AC/DC have forged a reputation as one of the hardest rocking groups ever over the years, but you’ve never heard their classic “Thunderstruck” quite like this before. A group of talented percussion students performed a brilliant and quirky cover of the rock anthem at PercuFest, which one commenter aptly described as sounding like “AC/DC played by the Sugar Plum Fairies.” The talented kids’ rock and percussion cover went mega viral on YouTube, drawing 26 million views.
In the cover, which was arranged by teacher Rafa Navarro, the students play the iconic opening Angus Young guitar lead on xylophones. This lends the lick an eerie and mysterious feel, like something out of a fantasy game soundtrack. The students build the performance up with a range of percussion instruments before the drum set player drives ahead into the main rock beat of the song, lifting the energy up and steaming towards a thunderous crescendo.
The cover features a guitar and bass part, but unlike the original, the stringed instruments take a back seat, allowing the unique percussion arrangement to really shine. The kids are clearly passionate rock and metal fans, as evidenced by the fact several are wearing band shirts from the likes of Nirvana, Pantera, and Children of Bodom. Their teacher allowing them to channel their passion for rock into a more formal performance really shows that he’s got the right approach to education.
The kids gave the performance at PercuFest 2014, and since the organizers uploaded it on YouTube, fans worldwide couldn’t get enough of the cover. Music lovers added comments such as “The marimbas and xylophones sounded like rain drops and the drums were the thunder! This song was begging to be played this way” and “A whole new take on the song that is just marvellous!” Many bands have covered “Thunderstruck,” with another viral take on it being Steve’n’Seagulls’ high tempo bluegrass version.
Here at The Music Man we love to report on the greatest hits of yesteryear, and “Thunderstruck” is definitely on that list. AC/DC’s sibling guitar duo Angus and Malcolm Young wrote the tune. The band subsequently released “Thunderstruck” on September 10, 1990, as the lead single from their 12th studio album The Razors Edge.
“Thunderstruck” became AC/DC’s biggest hit, going Diamond in the US, as well as Platinum in several other markets. The hard-driving rock tune marked a commercial return to form for the band, as they hadn’t scored a Platinum hit since 1980’s “Back in Black”. The song has remained popular with fans over the years, and is currently their third most played song on Spotify, with 1.5 billion streams.
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