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.[1] In an interview, Fagen recounted the experience: "I hear this guy practising, and it sounded very professional and contemporary. It sounded like, you know, like a black person, really."[1] He introduced himself to Becker and asked, "Do you want to be in a band?"[1] Discovering that they enjoyed similar music, the two began writing songs together.
Steely Dan was formed in when Dias placed an ad in The Village Voice[2] in the summer of 1970 that read: "Looking for keyboardist and bassist. Must have jazz chops! Assholes need not apply".[3] Fagen and Becker responded to the advertisement, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Jim Hodder and David Palmer also joined, Palmer joined as a second lead vocalist because of Fagen's occasional stage fright, his reluctance to sing in front of an audience, and because the label believed that his voice was not "commercial" enough.
A rift began growing between Becker-Fagen and Steely Dan's other members (particularly Baxter and Hodder), who wanted to 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 Auditorium in California.[4]
Steely Dan disbanded in June 1981.[5] Becker moved to Maui, where he became an "avocado rancher and self-styled critic of the contemporary scene."[6] He stopped using drugs, which he had used for most of his career.[7][8][9] Meanwhile, Fagen released a solo album, The Nightfly (1982), which went platinum in both the U.S. and the UK and yielded the Top-20 hit "I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)".
1993–present
Becker and Fagen reunited for an American tour to support Fagen's album Kamakiriad, which sold poorly despite a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. An album of the tour, called Alive in America, was recorded at various dates between August 19, 1993, and the September 19, 1994, personnel included pianist Warren Bernhardt, guitarists Georg Wadenius and Drew Zingg, bassist Tom Barney, saxophonists Cornelius Bumpus, Chris Potter and Bob Sheppard, percussionist/vibraphonist Bill Ware, backing vocalists Catherine Russell, Diane Garisto and Brenda White-King and drummers Dennis Chambers (1994 dates) and Peter Erskine (1993 dates).[10] The duo continued to tour in 1996 with some shows in 1995,[11] tour personnel included Tom Barney (bass), John Beasley (piano and keyboards), Ricky Lawson (drums), Wayne Krantz (guitar), Cornelius Bumpus (saxophone), Michael Leonhart (trumpet), Ari Ambrose (saxophone), Michelle Wiley (backing vocals) and Carolyn Leonhart (backing vocals).[12] After this activity, Becker and Fagen returned to the studio to begin work on a new album.
Jon Herington started performing with the band in 1999 and has since become a staple of their live sound.
In 2000, Steely Dan released their first studio album in 20 years: Two Against Nature. In the summer of 2000, they began another American tour, followed by an international tour later that year. The tour featured guitarist Jon Herington, who would go on to play with the band over the next two decades. Other musicians included saxophonists Ari Ambrose, Bob Sheppard, Chris Potter and Cornelius Bumpus, vocalists Carolyn Leonhart, Cynthia Calhoun and Victoria Cave, trombonist Jim Pugh, trumpeter Michael Leonhart, bassist Tom Barney, drummer Ricky Lawson and keyboardist Ted Baker.[13] In June 2000 the band released Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party which documents a recording of a PBSIn the Spotlight show recorded in January 2000, personnel included Ted Baker (piano), Jon Herington (guitar), Tom Barney (bass), Cornelius Bumpus and Chris Potter (saxophone), Michael Leonhart (trumpet), Jim Pugh (trombone), Ricky Lawson (drums) and Carolyn Leonhart, Cynthia Calhoun and Victoria Cave (vocals).[14] In March 2001, Steely Dan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[15][16]
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 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, the album also included touring members Ted Baker (keys), Jon Herington (guitar), Chris Potter (saxophone), Michael Leonhart (trumpet), Jim Pugh (trombone), Carolyn Leonhart, Cindy Mizelle and Catherine Russell (backing vocals).[17] The tour for this album included Carolyn Leonhart, Cindy Mizelle and Cynthia Calhoun (vocals), Cornelius Bumpus (saxophone), Jim Pugh (trombone), Jon Herington (guitar), Keith Carlock (drums), Michael Leonhart (trumpet), Ted Baker (keyboards), Tom Barney (bass) and Walt Weiskopf (saxophone).[18]
Keith Carlock has been the band's touring drummer since 2003, and is the band's longest tenured drummer in any capacity.
To complete his Nightfly trilogy, Fagen issued Morph the Cat in 2006, in that same year the band toured with former member Michael McDonald. The tour band included Jon Herington (guitar), Freddie Washington (bass), Keith Carlock (drums), Jeff Young (keyboards and backing vocals), Walt Weiskopf (saxophone), Michael Leonhart (trumpet), Jim Pugh (trombone), Roger Rosenberg (baritone sax), Carolyn Leonhart and Cindy Mizelle (backing vocals).[19] The tour continued in 2007 as the Heavy Rollers tour with the same personnel,[20] and into 2008, as the Think Fast tour, with the addition of Nelson Foltz on trumpet and Tawatha Agee on vocals.[21] That year Becker released a second album, Circus Money.
The Rent Party tour started in June 2009 and featured Carolyn Leonhart, Catherine Russel and Tawatha Agee (vocals), Freddie Washington (bass), Jim Beard (keyboards), Jim Pugh (trombone), Jon Herrington (guitar), Keith Carlock (drums), Michael Leohart (trumpet), Roger Rosenberg and Walt Weiskopf (saxophone).[22] In the same month the Left Bank Holiday tour also started and continued into July touring Europe, the tour included the same personnel as the Rent Party[23] which started again later in July 2009 and concluded in November.[24]
In July 2011, the Shuffle Diplomacy Tour started and included musicians Keith Carlock (drums); Jon Herington (guitar); Freddie Washington (bass); Jim Beard (keys); Michael Leonhart, Walt Weiskopf, Roger Rosenberg and Jim Pugh (horns); plus background singers Carolyn Leonhart, Cindy Mizelle, and Catherine Russell.[25] The Mood Swings: 8 Miles to Pancake Day Tour began in July 2013 and featured an eight-night run at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.[26] Musicians included Carolyn Leonhart, Catherine Russell and La Tanya Hall (vocals), Freddie Washington (bass), Jim Pugh (trombone), Keith Carlock (drums), Michael Leonhart (trumpet and Roger Rosenberg and Walt Weiskopf (saxophone).[27]
Jamalot Ever After, their 2014 United States tour, ran from July 2 in Portland, Oregon to September 20 in Port Chester, New York.[28] Its band included Keith Carlock on drums, Freddie Washington on bass, Jim Beard on keyboards, Jon Herington on guitar, Michael Leonhart on trumpet and keys, Jim Pugh on trombone, Roger Rosenberg on baritone saxophone, Walt Weiskopf on saxophone and vocalists La Tanya Hall, Carolyn Leonhart, and Cindy Mizelle.[29] 2015's Rockabye Gollie Angel Tour included opening act Elvis Costello and the Imposters and dates at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, it featured the same band as previous tours.[30] 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 tour band was the same.[31]
Becker died from complications of esophageal cancer on September 3, 2017.[32] In 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."[33] 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.[34] The band played its first concert following Becker's death in Thackerville, Oklahoma, on October 13.[34] In tribute to Becker, they performed his solo song "Book of Liars", with Fagen singing the lead vocals, at several concerts on the tour.[35] The backing band was retained.[36]
In 2018, Steely Dan performed on a summer tour of the United States with The Doobie Brothers as co-headliners.[37] The band also played a nine-show residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York City that October.[38] the band included Jim Beard (keys), Freddie Washington (bass), Jon Herrington (guitar), and Keith Carlock (drums).[39] In February 2019, the band embarked on a tour of Great Britain with Steve Winwood,[40] the included Ari Ambrose, Roger Rosenberg and Walt Weiskopf (saxophone), Carolyn Leonhart, Catherine Russell, Jamie Leonhart, La Tanya Hall and Nicki Richards (vocals), Connor Kennedy of The Nightflyers (guitar, vocals), Freddie Washington (bass), Jim Beard (keys), Jim Pugh (trombone), Jon Herrington (guitar, electric sitar) and Keith Carlock (drums).[41]
In July 2023, the Eagles announced Steely Dan would be the special guest of their The Long Farewell tour running from September to November 2023.[42]
On March 2, 2024, long-time touring keyboardist Jim Beard died.[43]
↑ while some sources state that Porcaro replaced Hodder,[46] others show that the two performed alongside each other.[47]
Related Research Articles
Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Originally having a full band lineup, by the end of 1974 Becker and Fagen chose to stop playing live and continue Steely Dan as a studio-only duo, utilising 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 who was 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.
Walter Carl Becker was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.
Katy Lied is the fourth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released by ABC Records in March 1975; reissues have been released by MCA Records since ABC Records was acquired by MCA in 1979. It was the first album the group made after they stopped touring, as well as their first to feature backing vocals by Michael McDonald.
The Royal Scam is the fifth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released by ABC Records in 1976; reissues have been released by MCA Records since ABC Records was acquired by MCA in 1979. It was produced by Gary Katz. In the United States, the album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, and it has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Everything Must Go is the ninth 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.
Kamakiriad is the second solo album by Steely Dan artist Donald Fagen, released in 1993. It was his first collaboration with Steely Dan partner Walter Becker since 1986, on Rosie Vela's album Zazu. Becker played guitar and bass and 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. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year 1994.
Morph the Cat is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Donald Fagen. Released on March 7, 2006, to generally positive reviews from critics, Morph the Cat was described by Fagen as his "death album" in an interview with Fred Kaplan of The New York Times. Musicians on the album include drummer Keith Carlock, saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, bassist Freddie Washington, and guitarists Frank Vignola, Jon Herington, Wayne Krantz, and Hugh McCracken.
"Deacon Blues" is a song written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen in 1976 and recorded by their group Steely Dan on their 1977 album Aja. It peaked at number 19 on the Billboard charts and number 17 on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 in June 1978. It also reached #40 on the Easy Listening chart. In Canada, it peaked at #14, a position it occupied for two weeks, and #20 Adult Contemporary. In 2021, it was listed at No. 214 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Jon Herington is an American guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and session musician.
"Pretzel Logic" is a song written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, released as a single by Steely Dan from their album Pretzel Logic, originally in 1974 by ABC Records. It reached number 57 in the Billboard charts.
"Cousin Dupree" is a promo single released in 2000 from Steely Dan's album Two Against Nature, also released that year.
Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with Steely Dan is a jazz album released in 2005.
Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party is a live video recording of a PBS In the Spotlight special on Steely Dan, released in 2000. This video focuses on a special concert, recorded live in January 2000 at Sony Studios in New York City, New York, and features tracks from their unreleased album Two Against Nature but also contains additional documentary footage.
Circus Money is the second and final solo album by Walter Becker released on June 10, 2008 through the 5 Over 12 label both in CD and digital download formats and July 14, 2008 through Sonic360 for the rest of the world outside North America. Unlike Becker's previous solo release, this album does not have the participation of Becker's fellow Steely Dan founder and bandmate Donald Fagen.
The Dukes of September was an American supergroup, formed in 2010 featuring Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. The project was a resurrection of the previous New York Rock and Soul Revue which featured the same three musicians and played a combination of hits from the members' respective careers as well as a wide variety of covers.
Carolyn Leonhart is a jazz singer, daughter of jazz bassist Jay Leonhart, and sister of the trumpeter Michael Leonhart. She has performed as a back-up vocalist for Steely Dan on several tours and recordings.
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.
"Slinky Thing" is a song by Donald Fagen, appearing as the first track from his album, Sunken Condos. Telling the story of an older man seeking the affection and companionship of a significantly younger woman, the song details the events surrounding the two as they spend time together and endure comments made by others, who advise the narrator to "hold on to that slinky thing." The narrator himself thinks about if "she needs somebody who's closer to her own age."
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