Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen Says He Has No Idea Who AC/DC Are

When AC/DC and Steely Dan take the stage at the Coachella music festival this weekend, don't expect much bonding between the two classic-rock artists, even though they're among the few old-timers on the indie-heavy roster.

Turns out Steely Dan singer Donald Fagen has no clue who the Australian hard-rock heroes are.

In a new tour diary Fagen is writing for Rolling Stone, buried among stories about flying and hanging out at the pool, the frontman claims he's never heard of AC/DC. "[A tour was] booked after we were invited to play at the Coachella festival as a token old-guy band along with AC/DC, whoever they are," he writes. "I stopped following most mainstream radio rock soon after we put out our first Steely Dan record in '72. Really, I've heard the name for years, but not sure what they sound like."

At least Fagen's timeline is sound. AC/DC's debut album, High Voltage, was released in their native Australia in February 1975. By then, Steely Dan were four albums into their career as rock's most wise-ass, and perfection-demanding, group. There's a pretty good chance that AC/DC's three-chord, guitar-based blues-rock would have been a total blur to the jazz-loving studio hounds in Steely Dan.

Maybe Fagen should check them out if he gets the chance. The Australian rockers will be unveiling a new lineup at Coachella, one that features Stevie Young replacing ailing uncle Malcolm on guitar, and the band's old drummer Chris Slade once again sitting behind the kit with Phil Rudd still in the midst of some serious legal trouble.

See AC/DC and Other Rockers in the Top 100 Albums of the '70s

You Think You Know AC/DC?