who are the founding members of steely dan
Steely Dan


. Striving for perfection, Becker and Fagen sometimes asked musicians to record as many as forty takes of each track. "Pretzel Logic" was the first Steely Dan album to feature Walter Becker on guitar. "Once I met [session musician] Chuck Rainey", he explained, "I felt there really was no need for me to be bringing my bass guitar to the studio anymore". A rift began growing between Becker-Fagen and Steely Dan's other members (particularly Baxter and Hodder), who wanted to
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Steely Dan


the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001. VH1 ranked Steely Dan at #82 on their list of the 100 greatest musical artists of all time. Founding member Walter Becker died on September 3, 2017, leaving Fagen as the sole official member. Becker and Fagen met in 1967 at Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. As Fagen passed by a café, The Red Balloon, he heard Becker practicing the electric guitar. In an interview, Fagen recounted the experience: "I
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Steely Dan


albums Becker produced for the British sophisti-pop group China Crisis, who were strongly influenced by Steely Dan. Becker is listed as an official member of China Crisis on the first of these albums, 1985's "Flaunt the Imperfection", and played keyboards on the band's Top 20 UK hit "Black Man Ray". For the second of the two albums, 1989's "Diary of a Hollow Horse", Becker is only listed as a producer and not as a band member. In 1986 Becker and Fagen
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Michael McDonald (musician)


called Blue, and moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1970 to pursue a career in music. In 1974, McDonald became a member of Steely Dan's touring band, singing lead and backing vocals. He also became one of the many in-studio adjunct members of the band, providing backing vocals on tracks for 1975's "Katy Lied". He appeared on subsequent Steely Dan recordings including 1976's "The Royal Scam" and 1977's "Aja". He also played keyboards on some Steely Dan tracks
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Aja (song)


a beautiful woman." Despite its complexity, and unlike most of the other tracks on the album, "Aja" took a very short time to record, which Steely Dan credit to the musicians' abiility to learn it quickly, without rehearsals. Denny Dias's guitar work, including a solo, marked the last appearance on a Steely Dan record by any other founding member of the group. On the other hand, were tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter and drummer Steve Gadd made their first appearances. Both play solos during the
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Jeff Baxter


singer Buzzy Linhart. By this time, he was using the moniker "Skunk," although the nickname's origins have been kept secret by Baxter. After the breakup of Ultimate Spinach, Baxter relocated to Los Angeles, finding work as a session guitarist. In 1972 he became a founding member of the band Steely Dan, along with guitarist Denny Dias, guitarist-bassist Walter Becker, keyboardist-vocalist Donald Fagen, drummer Jim Hodder and vocalist David Palmer. Baxter appeared with Steely Dan on their first three albums, "
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Steely Dan


Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1972 by core members Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Blending rock, jazz, traditional pop, R&B, and sophisticated studio production with cryptic and ironic lyrics, the band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981. Throughout their career, the duo recorded with a revolving cast of session musicians, and in 1974 retired from live performances to become a studio-only band
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Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)


million copies. However, the duo's success would be short-lived, as they broke up in 1999 without releasing a follow-up album or single. The song is built around a sample of Steely Dan's "Black Cow". In exchange for clearing use of the sample, Steely Dan requested an advance payment of $115,000 as well as 100% of publishing royalties, and as a result of this agreement, Steely Dan members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen are the sole credited songwriters on "Deja Vu (
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Everything Must Go (Steely Dan album)


Everything Must Go is the ninth and final studio album by American rock group Steely Dan. It was released on June 10, 2003, by Reprise Records, and was the band's second album following their 20-year studio hiatus spanning 1980 through 2000, when they released "Two Against Nature". "Everything Must Go" is the last studio album with founding member Walter Becker before his death in 2017. "Godwhacker" developed from a lyric Fagen wrote a few days after his mother died of Alzheimer's. "It's
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The Royal Scam


The Royal Scam is the fifth studio album by Steely Dan, originally released by ABC Records in 1976. The album went gold and peaked at #15 on the charts. "The Royal Scam" features more prominent guitar work than the prior Steely Dan album, "Katy Lied", which had been the first without founding guitarist Jeff Baxter. Guitarists on the recording include Walter Becker, Denny Dias, Larry Carlton, Elliott Randall and Dean Parks. In common with other Steely Dan albums, "The Royal Scam" is
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Donald Fagen


Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 70s. He has also released four albums as a solo artist, and in 2001 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The 2017 death of Steely Dan’s co-founder Walter Becker leaves Fagen as Steely Dan’s sole member. Fagen was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on January 10, 1948, to
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Katy Lied


Katy Lied is the fourth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in 1975 by ABC Records. It went gold and peaked at No. 13 on the US charts. The single "Black Friday" charted at No. 37. The album was the first after the break-up of the original five-piece Steely Dan; most of the original members had left during a rift over touring and recording schedules. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, who had been increasingly using session musicians in the studio on prior
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Steely Dan


-the-studio concert performance of popular songs from throughout Steely Dan's career. In March 2001, Steely Dan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2003 Steely Dan released "Everything Must Go". In contrast to their earlier work, they had tried to write music that captured a live feel. Becker sang lead vocals on a Steely Dan studio album for the first time ("Slang of Ages" — he had sung lead on his own "Book of Liars" on "Alive in
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Steely Dan


("Deacon Blues"), retsina ("Home at Last"), grapefruit wine ("FM"), cherry wine ("Time Out of Mind"), Cuervo Gold ("Hey Nineteen"), kirschwasser ("Babylon Sisters"), Tanqueray ("Lunch with Gina"), Cuban breeze (Fagen's solo track "The Goodbye Look"), and margaritas ("Everything Must Go") are all mentioned in Steely Dan lyrics. Current members Former members Note: Although Becker
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Dirty Work (Steely Dan song)


lovable gritty bounce" which typified the album. James Riordan of the "Southtown Star" considered that the Pointers' cover matched the original's "intensity" while being "more emotional and believable". Lauren Wood recorded "Dirty Work" for her 1979 self-titled album: arranged by Bill Payne of Little Feat, Wood's version features as a background vocalist Michael McDonald, a veteran of Steely Dan's 1974 touring band who - despite fronting the Doobie Brothers from 1976 - was a regular sideman on Steely Dan's
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Citizen Steely Dan


Citizen Steely Dan is a four-CD box set compilation album by Steely Dan, released in 1993. The set is a collection of all of Steely Dan's albums (up to 1980) in chronological order, and also contains a non-album single ("FM (No Static at All)"), a non-album B-side ("Bodhisattva (Live)"), a rare compilation track recorded during the sessions for "The Royal Scam" but released only on the 1978 "Greatest Hits
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Any Major Dude Will Tell You


"Any Major Dude Will Tell You" is a song written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker that was first released by Steely Dan on their 1974 album "Pretzel Logic". It was also released as the B-side of the first single from that album "Rikki Don't Lose That Number." It was later released on several Steely Dan compilation albums. "Steely Dan FAQ" author Anthony Robustelli describes "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" as one of Steely Dan's smoothest songs and an exemplar of the
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Champion (Kanye West song)


type of sense that I put on "Stronger". That's why "Flashing Lights", "Champion" all of them have that certain synthesizer, a real 80s synthesizer type of sound." The track contains multiple elements of the 1976 recording "Kid Charlemagne" by jazz-rock band Steely Dan. West cleared this sample by sending band member Donald Fagen a letter describing the backstory of the track after he and fellow Steely Dan member Walter Becker didn't initially approve of West sampling their work. Within "Champion
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The Royal Scam


him nuts. So, the story goes that they were having a fight one day and that was the genesis of the line." Given that the two bands shared a manager (Irving Azoff) and that the Eagles proclaimed their admiration for Steely Dan, this was more friendly rivalry than feud. Later that year in a nod back to Steely Dan for the free publicity, and inspired by Steely Dan's lyric style, the Eagles penned the lyrics, "They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't
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Northern Light Orchestra


Northern Light Orchestra is a Christmas-themed supergroup, founded in 2009, and composed of more than 20 artists who are already successful in heavy metal, hard rock bands. The group's music has been compared to Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Vocalists and musicians in the Northern Light Orchestra include members and former members of bands such as The Beach Boys, Sly and the Family Stone, Alice Cooper, Survivor, Steely Dan, Firehouse, Megadeth, Sister Sledge, Quiet Riot, Vanilla Fudge, Winger, Guns N' Roses
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Jim Keltner


Jack Bruce album "Out of the Storm". Other demonstrations of his style and range can be found in "Jealous Guy" on John Lennon's Imagine, the hit single "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright, and "Watching the River Flow" by Bob Dylan. Keltner is the drummer on the Steely Dan tune "Josie" (released in 1977). In the DVD "Steely Dan - Classic Albums: Aja", Donald Fagen states that in the bridge of the tune, Keltner overdubbed a 16th note
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Mu chord


an A7sus4 chord: DEG with A in the bass. The reference to this chord as "mu major" has been popularized by fans of the jazz-influenced rock group Steely Dan, as well as by the band members themselves. This chord is used extensively in their work, often arpeggiated at the end of musical phrases. The "mu major sound" is a distinctive idiom of Steely Dan's style. In a 1989 interview with Paul Zollo, Walter Becker explained that the use of the chord developed from trying to
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Roger Nichols (recording engineer)


Nichols' seemingly disembodied hand on the mixing console while he hid beneath it. After the third Steely Dan album "Pretzel Logic" and the tour by the band in support of it, Steely Dan ceased touring and turned into a band that only performed on recordings. Nichols' duties became more diverse, and ranged from diagnosing a flaw on the master tape of the band's biggest selling single, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", (a workman's gob of mustard on the tape was found by Nichols to
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ARP Pro Soloist


these effects. While moderately successful in its niche, the Soloist was not regarded as a serious synthesizer by most professional musicians. The limited set of voices, combined with tuning stability problems, kept it from wider use. Nevertheless, it found a place on recordings by such artists as Quincy Jones and Steely Dan. During the recording of Steely Dan's "Countdown to Ecstasy" (1973), Donald Fagen was so irritated with having to tune the Soloist so often, he threw it down the recording studio stairwell and jumped
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Can't Buy a Thrill


Can't Buy a Thrill is the debut studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released in November 1972 by ABC Records. It was produced by Gary Katz and written by band members Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The album was recorded at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. Two songs recorded during the "Can't Buy a Thrill" sessions were left off the album and released as a single ("Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway"). This is the only Steely Dan album to include David
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Steely Dan


tour. Becker and Fagen disliked constant touring and wanted to concentrate solely on writing and recording. The other members gradually left the band, discouraged by this and by their diminishing roles in the studio. However, Dias remained with the group until 1980's "Gaucho" and Michael McDonald contributed vocals until the group's twenty-year hiatus after "Gaucho". Baxter and McDonald went on to join The Doobie Brothers. Steely Dan's last tour performance was on July 5, 1974, a concert at the Santa Monica Civic
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Steely Dan


Auditorium in California. Becker and Fagen recruited a diverse group of session players for "Katy Lied" (1975), including Porcaro, Paich, and McDonald, as well as guitarist Elliott Randall, jazz saxophonist Phil Woods, saxophonist/bass-guitarist Wilton Felder, percussionist/vibraphonist/keyboardist Victor Feldman, keyboardist (and later producer) Michael Omartian, and guitarist Larry Carlton — Dias, Becker, and Fagen being Steely Dan's only original members. The album went gold on the strength of "Black Friday" and
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Do It Again Medley with Billie Jean


"Do It Again Medley with Billie Jean" is a song by the Italian music project Club House, released in 1983. The song combines elements of two hits made famous by other artists: "Do It Again", a 1973 top-ten hit by Steely Dan and Michael Jackson's number-one song from earlier in the year, "Billie Jean". Songwriting credit on the track is given to Jackson as well as the primary members of Steely Dan, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. The song reached the
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Steely Dan


second album, "Circus Money", produced by Larry Klein and inspired by Jamaican music. In 2009 Steely Dan toured Europe and America extensively in their Left Bank Holiday and Rent Party Tour, alternating between standard one-date concerts at large venues and multi-night theater shows that featured performances of "The Royal Scam", "Aja", or "Gaucho" in their entirety on certain nights. The following year, Fagen formed the touring supergroup Dukes of September Rhythm Revue with McDonald, Boz Scaggs, and members
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Steely Dan


Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway" are the only officially released Steely Dan tracks that have not been reissued on cassette or compact disc. In an interview (1995), Becker and Fagen called the songs "stinko." "Dallas" was later covered by Poco on their "Head Over Heels" album. "Can't Buy a Thrill", Steely Dan's debut album, was released in 1972. Its hit singles "Do It Again" and "Reelin' In the Years" reached No. 6
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Gaucho (album)


the record's songs tending to revolve around a single rhythm or mood, although complex chord progressions were still present particularly in "Babylon Sisters" and "Glamour Profession". "Gaucho" proved to be Steely Dan's final studio album before a 20-year hiatus from the recording industry. Exceptional difficulties plagued the album's production. By 1978, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had established themselves as the only two permanent members of Steely Dan, using a revolving cast of session musicians to record the songs they wrote together. However,
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Jim Hodder (musician)


Jim Hodder (December 17, 1947 – June 5, 1990) was an American drummer, best known as an early member of Steely Dan. After leading the Boston-based group The Bead Game, Hodder moved to Los Angeles to join the first lineup of Steely Dan. He appeared on their first three albums before leaving the group in 1974. He worked as a session musician before his 1990 death. Hodder was born in the small Long Island hamlet of Bethpage, New York in 1947. He graduated from Plainedge High
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Pretzel Logic


The album marked the beginning of Becker and Fagen's roles as Steely Dan's principal members. They enlisted prominent Los Angeles-based studio musicians to record "Pretzel Logic", but used them only for occasional overdubs. Steely Dan's Jeff "Skunk" Baxter played pedal steel guitar and hand drums. The cover photo featuring a New York pretzel vendor was taken by Raeanne Rubenstein, a photographer of musicians and Hollywood celebrities. She shot the photo on the west side of Fifth Avenue and 79th Street, just above the 79th
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Tom Scott (musician)


Floyd, Helen Reddy, Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan ("Black Cow"), Steppenwolf, Rod Stewart ("Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?") Steely Dan, Aja He produced two albums for tenor vocalist Daniel Rodriguez. "The Spirit of America" has sold over 400,000 copies to date. Scott is also a member of the Les Deux Love Orchestra and has conducted over thirty symphony orchestras around the U.S. as music director for Rodriguez. On June 25, 2019, "The New York Times Magazine"
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Steely Dan


run at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Jamalot Ever After, their 2014 United States tour, ran from July 2 in Portland, Oregon to September 20 in Port Chester, New York. 2015's Rockabye Gollie Angel Tour included opening act Elvis Costello and the Imposters and dates at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The Dan Who Knew Too Much tour followed in 2016, with Steve Winwood opening. Steely Dan also performed at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with an accompanying orchestra. The band played its final
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Josie (Steely Dan song)


"Josie" is a song written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen and first released by Steely Dan on their 1977 album "Aja". It was also released as the third single from the album and performed modestly well, reaching #26 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and #44 on the Easy Listening chart that year. It has appeared on several Steely Dan live and compilation albums. Becker and Fagen wrote an early version of "Josie" well before the recordings for "Aja" took place. While most
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Josie (Steely Dan song)


little short of that, peaking at number 26 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. It also reached #44 on the "Billboard" Adult Contemporary chart. "Josie" was included on several Steely Dan compilation albums, including "Greatest Hits" in 1978, "Citizen Steely Dan" in 1993 and "" in 2000. Several live versions were released, including on "Alive in America" in 1995, "Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party" in 2000 and "Green Flower Street: Radio Broadcast 1993"
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Bad Sneakers


"Bad Sneakers" is a song by jazz rock band Steely Dan. It was released as the second track on their 1975 album "Katy Lied". Producer Gary Katz later regretted not releasing the song as the first single. It also appears on the compilation albums "A Decade of Steely Dan" and "Citizen Steely Dan". Michael McDonald's vocals on the song are one of his first for the band; he would continue to perform background vocals for the band in recordings until 1980. The alternative band The
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Aja (song)


best." While "Aja" has not been played as frequently on the radio as the album's three singles—"Deacon Blues", "Peg" and "Josie"—it has become a staple of Steely Dan's live shows since the band resumed touring in the 1990s. Stewart Mason of AllMusic calls it "an absolute masterpiece, not only one of Steely Dan's finest songs, but also a pinnacle of '70s studio rock." Critic and John Lennon biographer Tim Riley recommends "Aja" as one of ten Steely Dan songs
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Steely Dan


It also features performances by session drummer Bernard Purdie. The album sold well in the United States, though without the strength of a hit single. "Haitian Divorce" (Top 20) drove sales in the UK, becoming Steely Dan's first major hit in that country. Steely Dan's sixth album, the jazz-influenced "Aja, " was released in September 1977. "Aja" reached the Top Five in the U.S. charts within three weeks, winning the Grammy award for "Engineer – Best Engineered Recording –
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Steely Dan


the Steely Dan name after Becker's death, and instead have toured with the current iteration of the group under another name, but was persuaded not to by promoters for commercial reasons. In 2018, Steely Dan performed on a summer tour of the United States with The Doobie Brothers as co-headliners. The band also played a nine-show residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York City that October. In February 2019, the band embarked on a tour of Great Britain with Steve Winwood. Guitarist Connor Kennedy of The
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Steely Dan


flutes and clarinets. The horn parts occasionally integrate simple synth lines to alter the tone quality of individual horn lines; for example in "Deacon Blues" this was done to "thicken" one of the saxophone lines. On their earlier albums Steely Dan featured guest arrangers and on their later albums the arrangement work is credited to Fagen. Steely Dan is famous for their use of chord sequences and harmonies that explore the area of musical tension between traditional pop sounds and jazz. In particular, they are known for their use of
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Steely Dan


the add 2 chord, a type of added tone chord, which they nicknamed the mu major. Other common chords used by Steely Dan include slash chords for example Bb/C or E7/A. This notation shows a chord (shown to the left of the slash) with a note other than the tonic (shown to the right of the slash) as the lowest pitched note. Steely Dan's lyrical subjects are diverse, but in their basic approach they often create fictional personae that participate in a narrative or situation.
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Victor Feldman


in 1967, Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell in the 1970s and Tom Waits and Joe Walsh in the 1980s. It is Feldman's percussion work on Steely Dan's song "Do It Again" that gives the song its Latin groove. Feldman appears on all seven Steely Dan albums released in the 70s and 1980 in the band’s first incarnation. Feldman's vibraphone soloing is featured extensively on the Grammy Award-winning "The Music from Peter Gunn", with AllMusic writing, "There's some particularly impressive work by drummer
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A Decade of Steely Dan


A Decade of Steely Dan is a compilation album by Steely Dan, released in 1985. It was the band's first compilation specifically for the compact disc market, and was certified a gold record by the RIAA. The album acts as a "de facto" singles package, including every Top 40 hit enjoyed by the band prior to its release with the exceptions of "Josie" from 1978 and "Time Out of Mind" from 1981. The remaining six tracks include two additional charting singles "My Old School" and
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The Doobie Brothers


July 15 and 29 concerts, sharing the bill with the Eagles and Steely Dan. The success of these concerts led to the Classic Northwest concert on September 30 at Safeco Field, where the Doobies opened for the Eagles. The band took the last leg of their 2017 world tour to Europe in late October and early November, opening for Steely Dan at a few of their shows. The Doobies have announced that they would once again be touring with Steely Dan in 2018. The tour began in May in Charlotte, North Carolina
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Dirty Work (Steely Dan song)


"Dirty Work" is a song written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker that was first released on Steely Dan's debut album "Can't Buy a Thrill" in 1972. The song's lyrics describe an affair between a man and a married woman, sung by the man. "Steely Dan FAQ" author Anthony Robustelli describes "Dirty Work" as a "song of self-loathing", while "The Guardian" describes the narrative as soap operatic. The singer recognizes that the woman is using him, but
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Dirty Work (Steely Dan song)


and the harsh lyrics. "Dirty Work" was included on several Steely Dan compilation albums, including "Citizen Steely Dan" in 1993, "" in 2000 and "" in 2006. "Seguin Gazette-Enterprise" writer J.J. Syrja expressed surprise that it was excluded from their 1978 compilation package "Greatest Hits". The song was used in the first episode of season 3 of "The Sopranos", "Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood," as Tony Soprano sings it while driving his SUV. The song was also
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Quill (band)


Many musicians who became international stars were a part of their coterie of bands, like the J. Geils Band, Peter Wolf & the Hallucinations (with Wolf later joining Geils to form a hit combination), Skunk Baxter (later of Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan fame), Jim Hodder of The Bead Game (who went on to become a drummer and vocalist for Steely Dan), Andy Pratt, Jimmy Thompson, drummer Russ Levine (Ultimate Spinach, Donna Summer, Bobby Womack) and Country Funk whose bass player Jim Lanham
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Do It Again (Steely Dan song)


"Do It Again" is a song composed by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, performed by American rock group Steely Dan, which was released as a single from their 1972 debut album "Can't Buy a Thrill". The single version differed from the album version, shortening the intro and outro and omitting the organ solo. Released in 1972, the song debuted on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on November 18, 1972, and reached number 6 on the US charts in 1973, making it Steely Dan's second
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Aja (song)


they reunited late in the 20th century and began touring again as Steely Dan. They released one live version, which appeared on the album "Live in America". Many artists, including Woody Herman, have covered it on Steely Dan tribute albums. Songwriters Walter Becker and Donald Fagen had formed Steely Dan in 1972 as a rock sextet, with Becker playing bass (occasionally guitar) and Fagen on keyboards. Even on the group's first album, "Can't Buy a Thrill", however, they had been willing
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Pretzel Logic (song)


"Pretzel Logic" is a song written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen that was released as a single by Steely Dan from their album "Pretzel Logic", originally released in 1974 by ABC Records. It reached number 57 in the Billboard charts. "Steely Dan FAQ" author Anthony Robustelli describes "Pretzel Logic" as a bluesy shuffle about time travel. Fagen has stated that the lyrics, including anachronistic references to Napoleon and minstrel shows, are about time travel. According to "Steely Dan FAQ" author Anthony Robustelli
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Steely Dan


, several would continue to work with Steely Dan over the next decade, including bassist Tom Barney and saxophone players Cornelius Bumpus and Chris Potter. During this tour, Fagen introduced himself as "Rick Strauss" and Becker as "Frank Poulenc". The next year, MCA released "Citizen Steely Dan", a boxed set featuring their entire catalog (except their debut single "Dallas"/"Sail The Waterway") on four CDs, plus four extra tracks: "Here at the Western World" (originally released on 1978's "
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Steely Dan


America"). Fewer session musicians played on "Everything Must Go "than had become typical of Steely Dan albums: Becker played bass on every track and lead guitar on five tracks; Fagen added piano, electric piano, organ, synthesizers, and percussion on top of his vocals; touring drummer Keith Carlock played on every track. To complete his "Nightfly" trilogy, Fagen issued "Morph the Cat" in 2006. Steely Dan returned to annual touring that year with the Steelyard "Sugartooth" McDan and The Fab
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Steely Dan


a note released to the media, Fagen remembered his longtime friend and bandmate, and promised to "keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band." After Becker's death, Steely Dan honored commitments to perform a short North American tour in October 2017 and three concert dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland for Bluesfest on a double bill with the Doobie Brothers. The band played its first concert following Becker's death in Thackerville, Oklahoma, on October 13. In tribute to
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Hotel California


are based on Henley's break-up with his girlfriend Loree Rodkin. According to Frey's liner notes for "The Very Best Of", the use of the word "steely" in the lyric, "They stab it with their steely knives, but they just can't kill the beast," was a playful nod to the band Steely Dan, who had included the lyric "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening" in their song "Everything You Did". Frey had also said that the
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Chuck Rainey


and Rainey continued to work as a studio musician on others albums like, Betty Davis' famously shelved session from 1976 or Tim Buckley's Greetings from L.A. About this time, he bumped into friend and Steely Dan producer Gary Katz, which led to performing on tracks for "Pretzel Logic" by Steely Dan. His relationship with Steely Dan continued through "Katy Lied"; "The Royal Scam", "Aja", where he performs on every track except "Deacon Blues" (Walter Becker played bass for that track
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Two Against Nature


Two Against Nature is the eighth studio album by Steely Dan. The album was released on February 29, 2000, by Giant Records. The album won the group four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for Cousin Dupree. It marked the first Steely Dan studio album in 20 years, following 1980's "Gaucho". It has been certified Platinum in the United States. "Two Against Nature" marked Steely Dan's first
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Steely Dan


of Steely Dan's live band, whose repertoire included songs by all three songwriters. Longtime studio engineer Roger Nichols died of pancreatic cancer on April 10, 2011. Steely Dan's Shuffle Diplomacy Tour that year included an expanded set list and dates in Australia and New Zealand. Fagen released his fourth album, "Sunken Condos", in 2012. It was his first solo release unrelated to the "Nightfly" trilogy. The Mood Swings: 8 Miles to Pancake Day Tour began in July 2013 and featured an eight-night
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Headquarters (Monkey House album)


Winter" (1998). In 2005, they released "Big Money", a collection of singles, remasters, and rarities. Stylistically, the "Headquarters" album shows it to be influenced by the music of Steely Dan, with arranged horns and background vocals throughout. Breithaupt says the tunes are "pop songs with too many chords!" Also, some guitar work comes from guest artists Drew Zingg (who is best known for his work with Boz Scaggs and Steely Dan), as well as from Kim Mitchell
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Kamakiriad


Kamakiriad is the second solo album by Steely Dan artist Donald Fagen, released in 1993. It was his first collaboration since 1980 with Steely Dan partner Walter Becker, who produced the album. The album is a futuristic, optimistic eight-song cycle about the journey of the narrator in his high-tech car, the "Kamakiri" (Japanese for praying mantis). It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1993. Music videos were produced for "Tomorrow's Girls" (starring Rick Moranis
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Gaucho (album)


track, approximately three-quarters of the song was accidentally erased by an assistant engineer who had been asked by Katz to ready the track for listening. The band attempted to re-record the track, but eventually abandoned the song entirely. Steely Dan biographer Brian Sweet has written that the group abandoned the song in favor of focusing on "Third World Man". "The Second Arrangement" was never played live by Steely Dan until a rarities show on September 17, 2011, and a studio recording of the song remains
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You, Me and Dupree


for 84 days, the film grossed $75,628,110 at the North American domestic box office, and in addition earned $54,803,258 in international markets, for a worldwide total of $130,431,368. The film's title caused a minor stir as the uncommon name, Dupree, is the same as the title character in the Steely Dan song "Cousin Dupree" from their 2000 album, "Two Against Nature" which also concerns a ne'er-do-well relative who becomes a problem houseguest. Steely Dan founders, Donald Fagen and Walter
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Steely Dan


a description of a murderous cowboy who beats the gallows, a man taken advantage of by a cheating girlfriend, and an obsessive gambler, all of whom are unable to command their own destinies; similar themes of being trapped in a death spiral of one's own making appear throughout their catalog. Other themes that they explore include prejudice, aging, poverty, and middle-class ennui. Many would argue that Steely Dan never wrote a genuine love song, instead dealing with personal passion in the guise of a destructive obsession.
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The Nightfly


The Nightfly is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Donald Fagen. Produced by Gary Katz, it was released October 1, 1982 by Warner Bros. Records. Fagen was previously best known for his work in the group Steely Dan, with whom he enjoyed a successful career in the 1970s. The band separated in 1981, leading Fagen to pursue a solo career. Although "The Nightfly" includes a number of production staff and musicians who had played on Steely Dan records, it was Fagen's first release without longtime
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Donald Fagen


severe stage fright, which prompted Steely Dan producer Gary Katz to hire David Palmer to sing two songs on Steely Dan's debut album, "Can't Buy a Thrill". This also led to the hiring of Royce Jones and Michael McDonald as singers in the band's tours in the early 1970s. Fagen plays the Fender Rhodes electric piano and Wurlitzer electric piano. Fagen's cousin Alan Rosenberg is an actor who was president of the Screen Actors Guild, while his cousin Mark Rosenberg was an activist in Students for a Democratic
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Keith Emerson


Entwistle of The Who, Joe Walsh of the Eagles, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, and Simon Phillips. This project focused on covering songs from each of the members' past bands. In the early 1990s, Emerson formed the short-lived group Aliens of Extraordinary Ability with Stuart Smith, Richie Onori, Marvin Sperling and Robbie Wyckoff. The group's name came from the application process for a US work visa, and the members included several British musicians who, like Emerson, had
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Larry Carlton


and country. Carlton appeared on hundreds of recording sessions with Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Bobby Bland, Sammy Davis, Jr., Paulinho Da Costa, the Fifth Dimension, Herb Alpert, Christopher Cross, Dolly Parton, Andy Williams, and the Partridge Family. Carlton performed on Mike Post's 1981 "Theme from "Hill Street Blues"". In 1982 he appeared on "The Nightfly" by Donald Fagen, lead singer for Steely Dan. His guitar work on Steely
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Dean Parks


Weldon Dean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, Texas, United States. Parks was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. In 1980, Parks was a founding member of the Jazz Fusion band Koinonia. Parks is best known for his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan and Michael Jackson. Notably, he played guitar on the "Royal Scam" track "Haitian Divorce", which features a Talkbox
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Dirty Work (Steely Dan song)


of 1974. The Flirtations had a 1974 single release of "Dirty Work", produced by Kenny Laguna: the group's first release in two years it marked the recording debut of Loretta Noble as a group member with founding members Sheila and Earnestine Pearce. José Feliciano recorded "Dirty Work" for his 1974 album release "For My Love...Mother Music" which Feliciano co-produced with Steve Cropper. Melissa Manchester recorded "Dirty Work" for her 1976 album release "Help Is on the Way", the track
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Takin' It to the Streets (The Doobie Brothers album)


reduce his involvement with the band, the other members considered just calling it quits but while in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, member Jeff Baxter suggested calling up friend and fellow Steely Dan graduate Michael McDonald who at the time was between gigs and living in a garage apartment. McDonald was reluctant at first, feeling he was not what they wanted, according to him, "...they were looking for someone who could play Hammond B-3 organ and a lot of keyboards, and I was just a songwriter/piano hacker. But more
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Elliott Randall


he felt that the band's dynamics would make the band dissolve after the third album—which happened. Later, Randall played with Steely Dan on their fourth and fifth albums, "Katy Lied" (1975) and "The Royal Scam" (1976). In 1980, John Belushi asked Randall to be musical director for The Blues Brothers, a position he also turned down. Jeff Porcaro and David Paich offered Randall the chance to be a founding member of Toto, and he rejected that too. As a session
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William S. Burroughs


poetry. The music was recorded by the surviving Doors members in 2000 specifically for this album. A Burroughs quote from a visualisation exercise called 'Take Nirvana' was used by director Shane Meadows in the final scene of The Stone Roses' 2013 concert DVD, . Numerous bands have found their names in Burroughs' work. The most widely known of these is Steely Dan, a group named after a dildo in "Naked Lunch". Also from "Naked Lunch" came the names Clarknova, The Mugwumps and The Insect Trust
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Aja (song)


, and Dias. Both had worked with him and Fagen before. Carlton had played some guitar solos on the band's previous album, "The Royal Scam", and done arrangements for "Aja"; Dias had played in bands with them before becoming one of the founding members of Steely Dan. Parts of performances by all three were edited together into the final mix. In the 1999 "Classic Albums" segment on "Aja", Dias recalled the song as being particularly challenging for the guitarists, claiming that "
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James E. Pugh


James Edward Pugh (born November 12, 1950) is a trombonist, composer, and educator. He is noted as the lead trombonist with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd (1972–1976) and Chick Corea's Return to Forever Band (1977–1978). For 25 years, he worked as a freelance trombonist in New York City. In recent years, he toured and recorded with the rock group Steely Dan, is a founding member of the Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble, and is on faculty as Distinguished Professor of Jazz Trombone at the
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Drew Zingg


Dan, with Zingg joining them on the tour as a lead guitarist and music director for about two years. Others joining this "Steely Dan Orchestra" were Warren Bernhardt on keyboards, Peter Erskine on drums, and Tom Barney on bass. In 1995, Steely Dan released a live album entitled "Alive in America" that was recorded during the 1993-1994 tours, with Zingg soloing on "Green Earrings" and "Third World Man". In 1996, Zingg started touring with Boz Scaggs. He can be heard
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Steely Dan


line "I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have eight" refers not to the count of some article, but to eight-millimeter film, which was lower quality than 16 mm or larger formats, underscoring the illicitness of Mr. Lapage's movie parties. Thematically, Steely Dan creates a universe peopled by losers, creeps and failed dreamers, often victims of their own obsessions and delusions. These motifs are introduced in the Dan's first hit song, "Do It Again," which contains
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Denny Dias


Dennis "Denny" Dias (born December 12, 1946) is an American guitarist, best known for being a founding member of Steely Dan. Dias was working with his own band out of his basement in Hicksville, New York, when he placed an ad in "The Village Voice" in the summer of 1970 that read: "Looking for keyboardist and bassist. Must have jazz chops! Assholes need not apply". Donald Fagen and Walter Becker responded to the advertisement. They joined his band and immediately began playing
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Warner Records


remixed version was a hit again in 1994 and its total of 54 weeks in charts gives it the longest tenure of any song on the Billboard Hot 100. By the time of The Doobie Brothers 1976 album "Takin' It to the Streets", founding member Tom Johnston had effectively left the band and he was replaced by former Steely Dan session man Michael McDonald, whose distinctive voice helped to propel the group to even greater success. The new album sold strongly, reaching #8 in the US, and the title track
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Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective


In "Spicy Detective", they have achieved the sauciest blend of libido and murder this side of Gilles de Rais. They have juxtaposed the steely automatic and the frilly pantie and found that it pays off. Above all, they have given the world Dan Turner, the apotheosis of all private detectives." Using quotes taken from various Dan Turner mysteries in "Spicy Detective", Perelman pokes fun at Turner's hard-boiled character. (After finding a female body in his closet in "Corpse in the Closet"
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Toby Beau


band apart. Although the addition of the production talents of Daniel Moore (songwriter for B. W. Stevenson and Three Dog Night) and Norbert Putnam (who had worked with Jimmy Buffett), as well as musicians like Victor Feldman (from Steely Dan fame) and Larrie Londin (who later worked with Journey) provided a smooth fusion style to the music, members of the band felt the tradition of the music was severely altered. This initially resulted in McKenna's choice to leave the band before completion of the second album,
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Gideon King & City Blog


Gideon King & City Blog (GKCB) is an American jazz-rock band. It was founded by Gideon King. Gideon King & City Blog has been compared to Steely Dan, a band they share a member with. The band performs live and is based out of New York City. Founder Gideon King is well known as a composer and guitar player. He started to play at the age of 10 inspired by his highly musical family. In 2015, he formed Gideon King & City Blog, a studio project inspired
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Countdown to Ecstasy


boys." Erik Adams of "The A.V. Club" wrote that the album has a "dossier of literate lowlifes, the type of character studies that say, 'Why yes, the name Steely Dan is an allusion to a dildo described in "Naked Lunch".' These characters hang around the corners of the entire Steely Dan discography, but they come into their own on "Countdown to Ecstasy"". The album was titled as a joke about attempts to rationalize a state of spirituality. The opening song "
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Citizen Steely Dan


" ("Here at the Western World"), and a previously unreleased demo of "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" (a song from their 1975 album "Katy Lied"). The set is , however, a complete compilation of every track released by Steely Dan up to 1993. Missing are both sides of the band's 1972 debut single ("Dallas" b/w "Sail the Waterway"), neither of which has ever been re-issued on CD. This is due to the
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Steely Dan


Greatest Hits"), "FM" (1978 single), a 1971 demo of "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" and "Bodhisattva (live)", the latter recorded on a cassette in 1974 and released as a B-side in 1980. That year Becker released his debut solo album, "11 Tracks of Whack", which Fagen co-produced. Steely Dan toured again in support of the boxed set and "Tracks". In 1995 they released a live CD, "Alive in America
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Steely Dan


Many of their songs concern love, but typical of Steely Dan songs is an ironic or disturbing twist in the lyrics that reveals a darker reality. For example, expressed "love" is actually about prostitution ("Pearl of the Quarter"), incest ("Cousin Dupree"), pedophilia ("Everyone's Gone to the Movies"), pornography ("Peg") or some other socially unacceptable subject. However, some of their demo-era recordings show Fagen and Becker expressing romance, including "This
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Steely Dan


Last" (from "Aja"), which was inspired by Homer's "Odyssey". Some of their lyrics are notable for their unusual meter patterns; a prime example of this is their 1972 hit "Reelin' In the Years", which crams an unusually large number of words into each line, giving it a highly syncopated quality. "Name dropping" is another Steely Dan lyrical device; references to real places and people abound in their songs. The song "My Old School" is an example,
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Jay and the Americans


the UK on Now Sounds.) From 1970 to 1971 Jay and the Americans' touring band included Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (of later Steely Dan fame) on backup bass guitar and electric organ. The group split in 1973. All of the members moved on to solo musical careers, with the exception of Jay Black, who continued to perform as "Jay and the Americans", using a variety of musicians. In 2001, he was featured in the PBS special "Rock, Rhythm, and Doo Wop"
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Band (rock and pop)


electric guitarist, bass guitarist, and a drummer (e.g. the Who, the Monkees, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and U2). Instrumentally, these bands can be considered as trios. The smallest ensemble that is commonly used in rock music is the trio format. Two-member rock and pop bands (such as Steely Dan, The White Stripes and The Black Keys) are relatively rare, because of the difficulty in providing all of the musical elements which are part of the rock or pop sound (vocals, chords
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Steve Lukather


whom eventually became members of Toto. Lukather, who had been a self-taught musician, began taking guitar lessons from Jimmy Wyble. With Wyble, Lukather expanded his knowledge of wider aspects of music, including orchestration. It was during this period in the early 1970s that Lukather became interested in the idea of becoming a session musician, a vocation that provided opportunities to play with a variety of famous musicians. Jeff Porcaro, who had been playing drums with Steely Dan since 1973, became a mentor to Lukather and furthered his
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Gold (Steely Dan album)


Fagen solo songs from movie soundtracks), and a live version of "Bodhisattva" (originally released as the B-side to the 1980 single "Hey Nineteen"). In addition, the reissue swapped the original "FM" with an alternate version with a saxophone solo replacing the guitar in the song's coda, a version that essentially incorporates the original single's B-side, "FM (Reprise)". Most Steely Dan compilations CDs since then feature this version of "FM", however, "
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Steely Dan


"Jazzman" (1974) with Carole King. Released in 1973, "Countdown to Ecstasy" was not as commercially successful as Steely Dan's first album. Becker and Fagen were unhappy with some of the performances on the record and believed that it sold poorly because it had been recorded hastily on tour. The album's singles were "Show Biz Kids" and "My Old School", both of which stayed in the lower half of the Billboard charts (though "My Old School" and — to a lesser
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Steely Dan


The duo have said that in retrospect, most of their albums have a "feel" of either Los Angeles or New York City, the two main cities where Becker and Fagen lived and worked. Characters appear in their songs that evoke these cities. Steely Dan's lyrics are often puzzling to the listener, with the true meaning of the song "uncoded" through repeated listening, and a richer understanding of the references within the lyrics. For example, in the song "Everyone's Gone to the Movies," the
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Steely Dan


Seat's Been Taken", "Oh, Wow, It's You" and "Come Back Baby". Steely Dan's lyrics contain subtle and encoded references, unusual (and sometimes original) slang expressions, a wide variety of "word games." The obscure and sometimes teasing lyrics have given rise to considerable efforts by fans to explain the "inner meaning" of certain songs. Jazz is a recurring theme, and there are numerous other film, television and literary references and allusions, such as "Home at
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Steely Dan


Beverly Hills. The band even employed self-reference; in the song "Show Biz Kids," the titular subjects are sardonically portrayed as owning "the Steely Dan T-shirt." The band also often name-checks drinks, typically alcoholic, in their songs: rum and cokes ("Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More"), piña coladas ("Bad Sneakers"), zombies ("Haitian Divorce"), black cows ("Black Cow"), Scotch whisky
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Me, Myself & Irene


this proves only to be a diversion to allow Charlie to propose marriage to her, which she happily accepts. In a post-credits scene, everyone looks for Charlie's thumb in the river. Whitey finds it, but a fish eats it. The film's original score was written by Pete Yorn, while the movie's soundtrack contains eight covers of Steely Dan songs. The film's score was composed by Stewart Copeland. * Steely Dan cover "Motherfucker" by The Dwarves, "Fire Like This" by Hardknox
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Left (Monkey House album)


for me on this album is that I sense a lot of people [were] waiting for it. I keep getting inquiries from people from all over the world giving me grief for taking so long, but that’s a fun situation to be in." Once again, this release has raised comparisons to the music group Steely Dan. "There's only one comparison really, and that's Steely Dan, and in particular, the Aja-Gaucho period", states jazzcorner.com. The album title "Left" is
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Royce Jones


Royce Jones (born December 15, 1954) is a Grammy-winning American musician best known for his work as a touring vocalist with the bands Steely Dan (in 1973 and 1974) and Ambrosia (joined 1978). In the studio, Jones contributed vocals to David Pack's "Anywhere You Go", Odyssey's self-titled release, Steely Dan's "Countdown to Ecstasy", Bruzer's "Round 1" and Stephan Cohn's self-titled release. In the summer of 2007, Jones joined a
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Gold (Steely Dan album)


Gold is a compilation album by Steely Dan, released in 1982. It mostly comprises hits both post-dating and not included on their 1978 "Greatest Hits", essentially acting as "Volume 2"; it also features additional album tracks, offering a broad perspective on the band's career to that point. Seven of the tracks are from five of the band's albums from 1973 to 1980; it also includes the non-album single "FM (No Static at All)" (from the soundtrack to the
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Steely Dan


"Classic Albums". After "Aja's "success, Becker and Fagen were asked to write the title track for the movie "FM". The movie was a box-office disaster, but the song was a hit, earning Steely Dan another engineering Grammy award. It was a minor hit in the UK and barely missed the Top 20 in the U.S.A. Becker and Fagen took a break from songwriting for most of 1978 before starting work on "Gaucho". The project would not go smoothly: technical, legal
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