(I got the) News | Issue 27
The night Steely Dan performed under a different name
The Night Steely Dan Performed Under a Different Name
Steely Dan has built a worldwide reputation primarily because of their legendary songs, but their quirky name also helped to pique listeners' interest. There was one night, however, when they had a different moniker: "Mr. Steely Dan."
It happened as the band was getting ready to play what ended up being its final U.S. concert for nearly 20 years, on July 4, 1974, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The group’s bus driver, Jerome Aniton, had an interesting time leading up to that night’s show.
Donald Fagen on the album that sent him into a depression
At the height of the 1970s, there were no better perfectionists than Steely Dan. Throughout every album they made, both Donald Fagen and Walter Becker never settled for anything less than pitch-perfect and would often go through dozens of session musicians to get the desired result.
After their massive hit album Aja, the band started to fall out of favour with each other and split up after Gaucho.
The Steely Dan lyric Donald Fagen said no one understood
It’s always been hard to get a handle on just what the hell Steely Dan is going on about in every one of their songs. There may be some hidden meaning or grand story that Walter Becker and Donald Fagen want to tell, but more often than not, it comes down to the fantastic solos on their records rather than them trying to become the jazz fusion answer to Bob Dylan.
They still took their craft seriously, and Donald Fagen was convinced that everyone was listening to ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’ wrong.
King Princess Covers Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work”
King Princess has shared a new cover of Steely Dan’s Can’t Buy a Thrill classic “Dirty Work.” She and producers Robert Linvill and Slimdan recorded the cover for the new season of the show Hacks.
Five Deep Cuts Underscore the Overlooked Brilliance of Steely Dan's 'Katy Lied'
Released in March 1975, the often-overlooked Katy Lied marked the first album after the breakup of Steely Dan’s original lineup. From now on, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker would choose from among music’s most talented and sought-after sessions players. As the following five deep cuts show, Katy Lied was better for it.
—> From the (always excellent) world of Expanding Dan:
Casey Kasem counts down Steely Dan's hits
A few days after Walter Becker’s death in September 2017, the Minneapolis radio host Ron “Boogiemonster” Gerber mourned as only he could.
He got behind a microphone on a Friday night at community-run KFAI-FM and dedicated an episode of his long-running weekly program to Steely Dan. “Everything I play tonight,” he told the listeners of Crap From The Past, “would not have been possible without Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.”
—> As usual… the truly awesome Barney Hurley X account continues to feature great SD content. There’s equally terrific non-steely Dan content as well!
Donald Fagen at A&R Studios, NYC during the recording sessions of Steely Dan's seminal 1980 album, 'Gaucho.'
Have a GREAT day! 😎