Hip-hop legend Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (Run-DMC) recently revealed news about gearing up for the release of new single called “She Gets Me High”. A remake of “Black Betty” by Ram Jam, it is set to feature McDaniels, Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) on vocals, Mick Mars (Motley Crue) on guitar, Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) on bass and Travis Barker (Blink-182) on drums. Said Bach: “It kicks complete and total ass in every way!! I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU ALL TO CRANK THIS UP!!!!!” Guns N’ Roses icon had reacted to ‘bad’ Duff McKagan shows.
Darryl McDaniels opens up on Travis Barker’s involvement
Regarding how Barker came to be involved with the project, McDaniels told SPIN that they had a word at a party. Barker was down with the idea of working with McDaniels and decided to join forces on the project: “I went to a party. Travis is there. He walks up to me and says, ‘Most people jumped on the [Run-DMC] bandwagon with ‘Walk This Way’, but I was there since ‘Rock Box’. When I heard ‘Rock Box’, I knew I could be a rock star.’
McDaniels added that: “And he said, ‘If there’s ever anything I could do for you.’ I go, ‘Oh, by the way, me and Sebastian are doing this thing.’ He’s, like, ‘I’m in.’ That showed me that what I did in ’85 was resonating two generations below me. But we was always wholesome. We were dominant, we were godlike, but you didn’t see a celebrity; you felt like you was down with us.”
An early recording of “Black Betty” goes all the way back to 1939, courtesy of bluesman Huddie Ledbetter. It was later tackled by Manfred Mann in the early 1970s before becoming a hit in the hands of the New York City outfit Ram Jam in 1977.
It has also been noted that this is not the first time Sebastian and Duff have recorded together. Back in 2014, McKagan played on Bach’s “Give ‘Em Hell” solo album. Duff and Sebastian also previously collaborated on McKagan’s 1993 solo album “Believe In Me”. Axl Rose also did a rare guest spot on for Bach solo two decades ago during his reclusive period.
