AC/DC: Stephen King’s favourite band of all time
Stephen King is frequently considered to be a literary rock star. Constantly publishing, and with so many of his books going on to be hit stories with imagery of demons, clowns and all kinds of horror, the parallels are there to be drawn. On top of that, he has worked with several different rock bands within his movie adaptations.
When his short story was turned into the cult classic Maximum Overdrive, King was adamant about having AC/DC involved in the project. AC/DC refused to put together a greatest hits or compilation album as they don’t believe in reselling material to their fans; however, they agreed to use a new song to support the film.
Their newest single, ‘Who Made Who’, landed on shelves a few months before the movie premiered. With Maximum Overdrive being a movie about machines turning on humans, the existential message behind the song was the perfect backdrop.
This move did more good for AC/DC than King, as the single seemed to reignite the band’s dwindling sales. In the DVD extras of the film, Murray Engleheart said, “’Who Made Who,’ to a large degree, re-established AC/DC. Things hadn’t been going fantastically well for them… they were still a major concert draw, and they were still one of the biggest concert acts in the world; it was their biggest single in years, their most successful single in years, and it just had everything – it was the classic AC/DC sound, the tension build-up at the beginning, the big chorus, the rhythmic stride, it just had everything.”
King also worked with Ramones on the movie Pet Sematary. He was a big admirer of the punk band, and after meeting them, they agreed to work together. “I’m a huge Ramones fan,” he said, “And my radio station got them to play a concert in Bangor. They put on a great rock and roll show. We had dinner afterwards and talked about Pet Sematary. The song followed. It was great. So was getting ACDC involved in Maximum Overdrive.”
Despite his affiliation with rock music, though, Stephen King has an eclectic taste, as it was revealed recently that he had an obsession with the track ‘Mambo No. 5’, which drove his wife crazy. So, who is his favourite band?
The truth is, like many of us, he doesn’t have a definitive answer. In an ‘Ask Me Anything’ that King took part in on Reddit, he was asked who his favourite act of all time was, to which he said, “Favourite musical act of all time? Probably Creedence Clearwater Revival. But AC/DC is close… and The Temptations… the Stones… ah, man, don’t get me started. Just not Led Zeppelin.”
As an author who has written in various styles, it’s hardly a surprise that King enjoys listening to a variety of music as well. It has trickled into his work in numerous aspects, but he can still not give a definitive answer on his all-time favourite band.
