Duff McKagan Reacts To Shout Out From Bob Dylan

12-23-2023

Duff McKagan

Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan shared his reaction to praise that he received from music legend Bob Dylan over a song that appeared on his 2019 solo album, "Tenderness".

Dylan singled out McKagan's song "Chip Away" during an interview last last year with the Wall Street Journey, "Mostly by accident, by chance. If I go looking for something I usually don't find it. In fact, I never find it. I walk into things intuitively when I'm most likely not looking for anything.

"There's a Duff McKagan song called 'Chip Away', that has profound meaning for me. It's a graphic song. Chip away, chip away, like Michelangelo, breaking up solid marble stone to discover the form of King David inside.

"He didn't build him from the ground up, he chipped away the stone until he discovered the king. It's like my own songwriting, I overwrite something, then I chip away lines and phrases until I get to the real thing. Shooter Jennings produced that record. It's a great song."

McKagan is promoting his new solo album "Lighthouse" and was asked about the Dylan comments in a new interview with Classic Rock. He said, "I started getting texts from friends. Axl went: 'Hey dude, have you seen this?' I was a little stunned because... [shakes head] Bob Dylan?! I don't know him, so for me to be recognized by him as a songwriter was great. I'm still a little blown away."

When it was suggested that McKagan should have asked Dylan to make a guest appearance on his new album, Duff explained, "I sent him a deluxe version of Tenderness, and I sent a handwritten card saying: 'Thank you very much for your kind words, here's my record. And if you ever want to write a song together...'"