Steely Dan FAQ

All That's Left to Know About This Elusive Band

Anthony Robustelli

• Publisher: Backbeat
• Year: 2017
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781495083075
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music Biographies

Despite Steely Dan's popularity, its ability to cultivate an ever-growing base of avid and loyal fans, and its chart positions, relatively little has been written about the group. Steely Dan FAQ clears up some of the many misconceptions about the band and sheds new light on the genius behind the songwriting of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, the perfection of their productions, and the myriad musicians who have played a role in creating the distinctive Steely Dan sound.

Steely Dan FAQ takes us through five decades of cryptic lyrics, sophisticated music, elusive interviews, dramatic interludes, and misconstrued sentiments. The band has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has had the majority of its albums certified platinum or double platinum in the U.S., yet the story has not been fully told. Within these pages readers will gain insight into the influences, musicians, situations, and complications that created one of the most distinctive bands in the history of rock and roll.

Table of contents

• Foreword
• Introduction: Hot Licks and Rhetoric
• 1 These Suburban Streets: The Childhood Years of Becker and Fagen
• 2 I’m Never Going Back to My Old School: The Bard College Years
• 3 Stompin’ on the Avenue by Radio City: Meeting and Working with Kenny Vance
• 4 Brooklyn Owes the Charmer Under Me: Becker and Fagen in Brooklyn
• 5 A Man of My Mind Can Do Anything: Enter Producer Gary Katz
• 6 Daddy Don’t Live in That New York City No More: Becker and Fagen Move to Los Angeles and Form Steely Dan
• 7 A Wailin’ Combo: The First Two Steely Dan Albums
• 8 Night by Night: The Early Tours of Steely Dan
• 9 The Man Gave Me the News: Steely Dan’s First Steps to Becoming a Studio Band
• 10 You’ve Been Telling Me You’re a Genius: The Session Guitarists of Steely Dan
• 11 The Soulful Secrets: Steely Dan Rarities
• 12 You Won’t Believe What the Boys Are Blowing: The Next Two Steely Dan Albums
• 13 What Made the Preacher Dance: The Drummers of Steely Dan
• 14 If You Can’t Fly, You’ll Have to Move In with the Rhythm Section: The Bass and the Keys
• 15 They Got the Steely Dan T-Shirt: Steely Dan’s Masterpiece: Aja
• 16 We’ll Move Up to Manhattan and Fill the Place with Friends: Becker and Fagen Return to New York City and Record Their Swan Song: Gaucho
• 17 I Think the People Down the Hall Know Who You Are: Donald Fagen’s Solo Career
• 18 Tearful Reunion in the U.S.A.: The Return of Steely Dan
• 19 There’s a Room in Back with a View of the Sea: Walter Becker’s Solo Career
• 20 It’s the Motion in the Music: Becker and Fagen as Session Musicians, Producers, and Songwriters
• 21 Well, I’ve Seen ’Em on the TV: Steely Dan TV and Video Performances
• 22 The Slickest Song I’ve Ever Heard: Steely Dan’s Return to the Studio
• 23 It’s Even Better This Time Around: The Steely Dan Tours from 2000 to 2016
• 24 Somebody Else’s Favorite Song: Steely Dan Songs Covered by Other Artists
• 25 You Were a Champion in Their Eyes: Musicians, Producers, Writers, and Others Speak About Steely Dan
• Selected Bibliography