Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) birthday - TIMH

Does that fellow look like a rockstar to you? I think I was standing in line behind him this morning at Moishe’s Bakery. While Donald Fagen looks like a rather ordinary guy his music is anything but. As a founding member of Steely Dan, Fagen wrote and performed some of the most interesting music of the 1970s.

Born in New Jersey today in 1948, Fagen’s mother was a lounge singer in the Catskills and his father was an accountant. Fagen played piano and trumpet as a child and his first musical love was jazz. Anti-social and introverted, Fagen was a hipster and a dandy of the first degree. In keeping with this he attended Bard College to study English literature.

It was at Bard in 1968 that he met his future Steely Dan batterymate, Walter Becker. Before forming Steely Dan they had a succession of smaller bands, one of which included fellow classmate Chevy Chase on drums. After graduating in 1969, Fagen and Becker moved to Brooklyn and tried to find work as songwriters. They had limited success in New York but made some connections that led them to Los Angeles.

They continued their song writing efforts in LA but soon realized they type of music they were producing was a bit more complicated than the norm. Becker and Fagen added a few musicians, including Skunk Baxter on guitar, to form a proper band and Steely Dan was born. Fagen’s literary past was integral in the naming of the band, as Steely Dan was named after a, *ahem*, marital aid in the William Burroughs book “Naked Lunch”.

Steely Dan released their debut album, “Can’t Buy a Thrill”, in 1972. They scored their first two hits, “Do It Again” (#6 on the singles chart) and “Reelin’ in the Years” (#11). Fagen was not a strong performer at this point and the band brought in a vocalist, David Palmer, to handle the duties on tour. Palmer also handled vocals on another solid track on the album, “Dirty Work”.

“Countdown to Ecstasy” followed in 1973 and the album wasn’t as successful as the first. Fagen and Walter blamed the demands of touring that rushed production of the album. They despised touring and wanted to focus on the writing and recording of the music. “Pretzel Logic” was released in February of 1974 and Steely Dan gave their last concert performance on July 4 of that year. The cessation in touring led to the departure of a few band members, including Skunk Baxter.

Steely Dan added more studio session professionals to the team, including Michael McDonald and Ohio’s own, Rick Derringer. “Katy Lied” was released in 1975 and reached #13 on the album chart. “The Royal Scam” followed in 1976 and reached #15. The band was rolling with back to back gold albums and solid singles like “Black Friday”, “Bad Sneakers” and “Kid Charlemagne”. The true genius of the songs were the often creepy subjects that lay just below the slick jazzy, funky 70s surface.

A good example is “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” off the album “Katy Lied”. The song sounds harmless enough, using a simple bass line to propel the song and lilting vibraphone and muted sax to keep things relaxed. A deceptively simple chorus – “everyone’s gone to the movies, now we’re alone at last” – could be your parents thankful for a little peace and quiet around the house. A closer listen reveals that the movies in question are not shown at the local multi-plex, but rather in Mr. LaPage’s basement, and they’re not the type of films you want the neighborhood weirdo showing your kids.

In 1977, Steely Dan released their most successful album, “Aja” (pronounced “Asia”). It was their first platinum album and reached #3 on the chart. This album is the distillation of all of Fagen and Becker’s efforts of perfection in the studio. Only seven songs, the album made up for quantity with an abundance of quality. Even if you’re not a Steely Dan fan you’ve probably heard five of the seven songs – “Black Cow”, “Aja”, “Deacon Blues”, “Peg” and “Josie”.

Due to multiple legal issues among record companies as well as personal issues, Steely Dan’s next album didn’t come until 1980. “Gaucho” reached #9 on the chart and spawned a Top Ten single in “Hey Nineteen”. This would mark the end of Steely Dan for over a decade. Fagen and Becker reunited for tours in 1993 and 1994 and a live album was issued in 1995.

In 2000 they released “Two Against Nature”, their first studio album in 20 years. The album went platinum and won four Grammys, including Album of the Year. Their last album, “Everything Must Go”, came in 2003 but was largely a disappointment. Steely Dan has remained active touring and they often will play entire albums in one show.

Fagan has also had a fairly successful four-album solo career, as all of the albums have reached the Top 30. “The Nightfly” was released in 1982 and was one of the first completely digitally recorded albums. Fagen’s last solo album, 2012’s “Sunken Condos” reached #12 on the chart.

“Do It Again” off the album “Can’t Buy a Thrill” 1972: