After the conflict in the Pacific ended, the family moved to Miami Beach, Florida, where Malcolm grew up. As a teenager in Miami Beach, Malcolm took an interest in music and played in many local garage bands that catered to private teenage parties.
The Chris Malcolm-penned Everyone's Gonna Wonder was a No.7 hit for The Avengers in September 1967. In 1994 it was covered by Dunedin supergroup Pop Art Toasters, which included Martin Phillipps (The Chills) and David Kilgour (The Clean) among its members.