Former AC/DC Singer Dave Evans Explains the Real Reason for Rock and Roll’s Decline: “People Are Not Hearing It”

Having performed on stage for several decades, Dave Evans was once the original singer for AC/DC. Helping the band during the early years, the singer eventually left the group in 1974 when replaced by Bon Scott. Knowing how the industry worked, Evans never let the decision hold him back as he produced a promising career on and off the stage. And when looking back at his decade’s worth of experience, the rockstar offered his blunt take on the current state of Rock and Roll and why the genre has declined over recent years. 

Videos by American Songwriter

Not pointing the blame on rock and roll bands or even the singers, Evans turned the spotlight to the music industry and radio stations. Explaining how the industry appeared to forget about rock and roll, the singer insisted its decline happened because “They’re not playing it on the radio.” He added, “The last rock band signed by a major label was about 20 years ago. I’m not talking metal; I’m talking about rock and roll, rock music. There hasn’t been a rock act signed for 25 years.”

With Evans knowing the talent within the rock genre, he urged radio stations to play more rock music. “If people are not hearing it, how can they like it? You play it to them, they love it.”

[RELATED: Former AC/DC Frontman Dave Evans Teases Two New Songs With Metallica’s Producer: “Look Out for Them”]

The Reason Dave Evans Doesn’t Like Metal

While Evans nurtured a career in the music industry thanks to rock and roll, the singer didn’t care much for metal. Seeing the genre as nothing more than a gimmick, he insisted, “Rock and roll is an attitude – a real attitude, not a pretend one. Metal is a pretend attitude – they get up there and go, ‘Rahrahrahrahrah’ – it’s bullshit. They get up there and paint their face and ‘Yeahyeah’ and they go home to their mamas: ‘Mama, what’s for dinner?.’ But rock and roll is real.”

Outside of his thoughts on rock music, Evans also criticized the new generations of bands and how they lost the humanity of music. “A lot of [modern] music’s pretty clinical — it’s very clinical. You go back and listen now to bands like Led Zeppelin and Free — that’s when you’re feeling it, man. Really feeling it. This music today, it’s boring to me because there’s no humanity. There’s no humanity with that music… It might be clever and dexterous, and [they might] play all the chords and all that sort of stuff, but there’s no feel.”

With Evans worried about the current state of music, it appeared that the answer could only be found when music and passion joined forces.

(Bootleg B’stards, 2013)