“Now I would be a rich man!”: Kerry King regrets not signing a better deal for his solo on this classic Beastie Boys track
Kerry King once recorded a solo for the Beastie Boys for some extra cash, but in hindsight, he now feels he landed the short straw in terms of his payout.
King was in the same studio as the rap-rock group, and was recording Reign In Blood with Slayer. Both bands were working with producer Rick Rubin at the time, and King was happy to assist when he found out they were in need of a solo on No Sleep Till Brooklyn.
READ MORE: Kerry King is still trying to come up with a band name: “I don’t wanna use my name, ‘cause I’m not a vain dude”
King released his first solo record, From Hell I Rise back in May, marking the start of his own adventures away from Slayer following their “retirement” in 2019. The band are due to play three festival dates this summer however, though this is not believed to mark a comeback.
King decided to go solo as he wasn’t ready to stop playing yet, and it seems that drive to keep working was in him even back in 1986. In an interview with Border City Rock Talk on YouTube, King recalls picking up a peculiar side quest with the Beasties (via NME): “The simplicity of it is what’s funny about it. We were doing what became the Reign In Blood album and the Beasties were doing Licensed To Ill in the same studio – like down the hall from each other,” he says.
“And Rick Rubin was doing both projects. So they needed a lead on that particular song, No Sleep Till Brooklyn. So I thought about it, and I went, ‘Yeah, why not? I can use a couple hundred bucks.’ I certainly wasn’t well to do back then. So, that’s what I did. I went in there and I did it. And in hindsight, I wish I didn’t get paid. I wish I took a quarter point or something, because now I would be a rich man!”
Check out the full interview below:
Kerry King is currently on the road. Head to his website to view all scheduled tour dates.
The post “Now I would be a rich man!”: Kerry King regrets not signing a better deal for his solo on this classic Beastie Boys track appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
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