Cliff Williams

The steady bassist who joined AC/DC in 1977, anchored their rhythm section through decades of hard rock, and returned for their 2020 comeback album.

Clifford Williams (born 14 December 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. He started his professional music career in 1967 and had previously been in the English groups Home and Bandit. His first studio album with AC/DC was Powerage in 1978. Williams was inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of AC/DC in 2003. Williams announced his retirement from AC/DC in 2016, but returned for their 2020 comeback album Power Up along with bandmates Brian Johnson and Phil Rudd. His side projects include benefit concerts.

Quick Facts

Birth name

Clifford Williams

Born

14 December 1949

Birthplace

Romford, Essex, England

Origin

Hoylake, Merseyside, England

Genre

Hard rock
heavy metal
blues rock
rock and roll
progressive rock

Occupation

Musician, singer

Instrument

Bass, vocals

Years active

1966–2016, 2018–present

Lore & Background

Williams' role in AC/DC was to provide steady but basic basslines which followed the rhythm guitar of Malcolm Young, consisting mostly of eighth notes. His basslines were sometimes written by Malcolm and Angus Young during composition, and at other times Williams developed them based on the other instrumental tracks. Williams has said of his playing, "It's not the [bass] line that counts. It is the feel. My favorite AC/DC tune to play is 'Down Payment Blues', because it's so simple. I play four notes throughout the song, but I get off on the whole thing—not me noodlin' away." He also said that he plays "the same thing in every song, for the most part [...] in AC/DC's music, the song is more important than any individual's bit in it". He added that "complex [bass] lines wouldn't add anything to a guitar-oriented band like [AC/DC], so [he tries] to create a bottom layer that drives what [AC/DC's] guys are doing on top". Williams had no difficulty keeping his low profile within the band, declaring, "I don't have any problem doing this, because I enjoy playing simply. I never feel angry or prisoner."

Reader's Guide

Williams' trademark instrument is the StingRay and other basses by Music Man, strung with Ernie Ball (.045, .065, .085, .105) flatwounds in the studio and D'Addario roundwound XLs in the same gauge in concert. In October 2020, Ernie Ball Music Man announced that they are releasing a Cliff Williams Signature Bass which will be a genuine replica of his 1979 Music Man StingRay bass. Williams states that despite trying other basses over the years, he always went back to Music Man's instruments, which he described as "a tremendous work horse of a bass". Other basses used include the Fender Precision Bass, a Gibson Thunderbird non-reverse, Fender Jazz Bass, the Steinberger L-series, a Gibson EB-3 and at least two LAG Custom basses. Williams used 3 Ampeg SVT-810E cabinets with 2 SVT-4PRO Heads, but if there was any interference with the wireless systems, he used cables in his live performances.

Did You Know?

Williams was born in Romford, Essex, and moved to Hoylake, Merseyside in 1961, where the local Merseybeat movement influenced him to become a musician.
He learned to play bass mostly by 'listening to records and picking out notes', with formal training limited to some lessons from a professional bassist in nearby Liverpool.
In 1982, Williams was chosen as 'Bassist of the Year' in a vote conducted by Kerrang! magazine.
Williams married his American wife Georganne in 1980, and they have two children, including Erin Lucas and Luke (born 1986).
During AC/DC's hiatus in the 2000s, Williams joined Bosnian musician Emir Bukovica's band Emir & Frozen Camels, recording the album San in 2002.