Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Initially the band had a stable lineup but in 1974 Becker and Fagen retired from live performances to become a studio-only band, opting to record with a revolving cast of session musicians. Rolling Stone has called them "the perfect musical antiheroes for the seventies".
Donald Jay Fagen is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his work with Steely Dan, Fagen has released four solo albums, beginning with The Nightfly in 1982, which was nominated for seven Grammys.
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 band's most recent studio album and their last with founding member Walter Becker before his death in 2017.
Two Against Nature is the eighth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan. Their first studio album in 20 years, it was recorded from 1997 to 1999 and released on February 29, 2000, by Giant Records.
"After the Love Has Gone" is a single by Earth, Wind & Fire released in 1979 on ARC/Columbia Records. The song reached No. 2 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, No. 4 on the UK Pop Singles chart, and No. 3 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart. "After the Love Has Gone" was certified gold in the US by the RIAA and silver in the UK by the BPI.
Jay Joseph Graydon is an American songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, keyboardist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards with twelve Grammy nominations, among them the title "Producer of the Year" and "Best Engineered Recording". He has mastered many different music styles and genres, and his recordings have been featured on record, film, television and the stage.
"Peg" is a song by the American rock group Steely Dan, first released on the band's 1977 album Aja. The track was released as a single in 1977 and reached number 11 on the US Billboard chart in 1978 and number eight on the Cash Box chart. With a chart run of 19 weeks, "Peg" is tied with "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Hey Nineteen" for being Steely Dan's longest-running chart hit. In Canada, "Peg" spent three weeks at number seven in March 1978.
Extensions is the fifth studio album by the Manhattan Transfer, released on October 31, 1979, by Atlantic Records.
"FM (No Static at All)" is a song by American jazz-rock band Steely Dan, the title theme for the 1978 film FM. It made the US Top 40 that year when released as a single, a success relative to the film. Musically, it is a complex jazz-rock composition driven by its bass, guitar and piano parts, typical of the band's sound from this period; its lyrics look askance at the album-oriented rock format of many FM radio stations at that time, in contrast to the film's celebration of that medium.
Michael Leonhart is an American jazz trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist.
"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.
Sunken Condos is the fourth and most recent solo album from Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen, released in October 2012 through Reprise Records. It contains eight new songs and a cover of Isaac Hayes' "Out of the Ghetto". Fagen began recording the album in 2010 and described it as having a lighter feel than his earlier work, rather than being a continuation of his Nightfly trilogy.
Radio Dream is the second album from Sacramento, California rocker Roger Voudouris. Released in 1979, this album became a major breakthrough for the singer-songwriter/guitarist. Whereas his self-titled previous album had more hints of progressive rock, Radio Dream found Voudouris simplifying his approach slightly, collaborating with producer Michael Omartian and channeling more of an accessible "pop" sensibility. The lead-off track, "Get Used to It" became a big hit on the US pop charts, just missing the Top 20. The tune would become Voudouris' only charting single. The rest of the album features a combination of disco-infused hard rock and mellow ballads, finishing with a slight nod toward his progressive rock past with "Reprise."
"Aja" is a jazz rock song, with elements of jazz fusion and progressive rock, by the American rock band Steely Dan from the album of the same name, their sixth studio album, released in 1977. Composers Becker and Fagen play guitar and synthesizer, respectively, on the song, with various studio musicians playing the other parts; Fagen sings lead vocals. Production duties were handled by Gary Katz; the album was released through ABC Records. Musically, it is a tonally sophisticated and structurally complex work that was praised on its release as the most ambitious track the duo had ever attempted. The song's lyrics center around the interior monologue of a man who runs to the title character to escape the stresses of his life "up on the hill." Fagen claimed that it was inspired by a relative of someone he knew, who had married a Korean woman named Aja. He has described the song as being about the "tranquility that can come of a quiet relationship with a beautiful woman."
Monkey House is a musical group founded by Don Breithaupt, a Canadian-born pianist, singer/songwriter, composer, arranger, producer and author. The group got its name from a 1968 book by Kurt Vonnegut.
Don Breithaupt is a Canadian pianist, singer/songwriter, composer, arranger, producer and author.
Drew Zingg is an American rock, blues, soul and jazz guitarist, best known for his performing with Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs.
Headquarters is a studio album by the music group Monkey House, released in May 2012, on Alma Records, which is affiliated with the Universal Music Group. It was primarily recorded at the Drive Shed in Toronto. It was produced and arranged by Don Breithaupt, and the engineer was John 'Beetle' Bailey. Breithaupt is the founder and leader of Monkey House, who have been recording since 1992. Their previous two albums were Welcome to the Club (1992), and True 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, as well as from Kim Mitchell and Rik Emmett. Also making contributions on this album are Steely Dan trumpet player and musical director Michael Leonhart, with Julie Crochetière and David Blamires adding backup vocals. Headquarters has generated increasing attention and multi-genre airplay for Monkey House, with a growing international audience.
Retrospective is an anthology album by the music group Monkey House, which was released in 2013 on the Green Dolphin Music label. Monkey House is a rock/pop/jazz group led by Don Breithaupt. This release has a total of 44 tracks: 38 songs, plus six interviews. It includes almost every tune from their first two albums, Welcome to the Club (1992), and True Winter (1998), and also has four newer songs that were on the 2005 release entitled Big Money: Singles Remasters Rarities 1992-2005. Additionally, six tunes not previously released are on this anthology album, five of them being instrumentals, as well as the tune "I'm Not That Guy" from the Headquarters sessions, but had not been included on that album. Special guests include Little Feat drummer Richie Hayward and former Pat Metheny Group member David Blamires.
