In a recent conversation on Todd Kern’s YouTube channel, Billy Sheehan stated that the drum beats in AC/DC’s song ‘Back in Black’ are disco beats, and he doesn’t think it was a good idea.
David Lee Roth’s successful bass player recently criticized Diamond Dave’s attempt to experiment with pop and claimed that it didn’t work. According to Sheehan, rock fans and dance fans hate each other, and therefore it’s not a good idea to combine the two genres of music.
After criticizing Roth, Sheenan added that AC/DC did the same thing in their song ‘Back in Black.’ Sheehan claimed that the drum beats of the track are disco, which is doesn’t make a lot of sense because disco shouldn’t mix with rock. He then stated that it ‘kind of works a little’ because the rest of the song doesn’t sound like disco.
Here is what he said about ‘Back in Black’:
“I hope AC/DC fans don’t get mad at me because AC/DC’s my favorite band of all time, but ‘Back in Black,’ a lot of those drum beats are disco beats, that bass drum. The rest doesn’t sound like it, but you see a little bit of hybridization of the two together. It kind of works a little.”
‘Back in Black’ was the title track of AC/DC’s 1980 record, and it became one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album and the song’s success brought a lot of fame to the band, and it is still regarded as the most well-known AC/DC track. Even though Billy Sheehan stated that AC/DC is his favorite band of all time, his claim that the legendary track’s beats are disco is quite a controversial one.
You can watch the entire conversation below.
