He gives his readers the heebie jeebies and author Stephen King has revealed he is a fan of the Bee Gees in a rare interview on 6 Music.

The writer of dozens of best-selling novels, from The Shining to It, chooses his favourite and most influential artists including The Rolling Stones and KC and the Sunshine Band, in a new series called Paperback Writers, also featuring Man Booker prize winner Marlon James.

King says AC/DC are “the best rock and blues band of all time” and describes how he first had the “crazy idea” for a musical with John Cougar Mellencamp.

“One of the questions that defines a person is … ‘is it Beatles or Stones?’” says King, who says he “got into a lot of arguments in the 70s with rock purists who absolutely hated disco”.“I thought to myself, if people hate me and if they want to downgrade my musical taste, I’ll just have to live with that and cry hot tears of shame on my pillow. If I had more time here, I’d have put on one of the Bee Gees disco songs, but that’s another story.”

The new series will be available online from 9am on Sunday, a week before it is broadcast on 6 Music the following Sunday at 1pm.

Other writers taking part include Marlon James, crime writer Belinda Bauer and Mark Billingham, writer of the Tom Thorn series, each hosting their own show.

It is one of a number of new BBC radio series that are going online first across its stations for seven days before broadcast.

Stephen King’s – spoiler alert! – song choices on 6 Music’s Paperback Writers

Stiff Upper Lip – AC/DC
At the Hop – Danny and the Juniors
Pink Houses – John Cougar Mellencamp
The New Girl in School – Jan and Dean
Dance Little Sister – Rolling Stones
That’s the Way I Like It – KC & the Sunshine Band
Dirty Water – The Standells
Louie Louie – The Kingsmen
It Came Out of the Sky – Credence Clearwater Revival
Secret Agent Man – Johnny Rivers
Anarchy In the UK – Sex Pistols
Needles and Pins – The Searchers
S.O.B. – Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
My Sharona – The Knack