Last Updated on March 2, 2023

Steely Dan

Steely Dan is an American rock band. It was founded in 1972. The band was referred to as “the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies”, by Rolling Stone. Its core members are Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals).

The band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981. It blended Jazz, traditional pop, R&B, and sophisticated studio production with cryptic and ironic lyrics. The duo recorded with a revolving cast of session musicians, and retired from live performances in 1974 to become a studio-only band.

The band re-united in 1981 and Steely Dan has toured steadily and released two albums of new material. Two Against Nature, earned a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. They have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. In 2001, March, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Becker died from complications of esophageal cancer on 3rd September, 2017. Rememberring his longtime friend and bandmate, Fagen promised to keep the music they created together alive as long as he can with the Steely Dan band. Steely Dan honored commitments to perform a short North American tour in October 2017 after Becker’s death.

The band also honoured three concert dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland for Bluesfest on a double bill with the Doobie Brothers. They performed Becker’s solo song “Book of Liars”, with Fagen singing the lead vocals, at several concerts on the tour. This was in tribute to Becker. Fagen was sued later that year, by Becker’s widow and estate arguing that the estate should control 50% of the band’s shares.

Steely Dan Performing

Fagen filed a counter suit, arguing that the band had drawn up plans in 1972 stating that band members leaving the band or dying relinquish shares of the band’s output to the surviving members. In December, Fagen said that he would rather have retired the Steely Dan name after Becker’s death, and instead have toured with the current iteration of the group under another name, but was persuaded not to by promoters for commercial reasons.

The band performed on a summer tour of the United States with The Doobie Brothers as co-headliners in 2018. In February 2019, the band embarked on a tour of Great Britain with Steve Winwood. April, 2019, Guitarist Connor Kennedy of The Nightflyers joins the live band for a 9 night residency at The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas.

Steely Dan Songs | Steely Dan Albums | Steely Dan Music | Steely Dan Cds

• Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972)
• Countdown to Ecstasy (1973)
• Pretzel Logic (1974)
• Katy Lied (1975)
• The Royal Scam (1976)
• Aja (1977)
• Gaucho (1980)
• Two Against Nature (2000)
• Everything Must Go (2003)

Steely Dan Tour 2019 | Steely Dan Tour Dates | Steely Dan Concert Schedule | Steely Dan Concert Dates | Steely Dan Concert Tickets |  Steely Dan Shoreline | Steely Dan Red Rocks | Steely Dan Beacon | Steely Dan Beacon Theater

• Wednesday, 24 April 2019 (20:00) @Venetian Theatre at the Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Friday, 26 April 2019 (20:00) @Venetian Theatre at the Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Saturday, 27 April 2019 (20:00) @Venetian Theatre at the Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Wednesday, 01 May 2019 (20:00) @Venetian Theatre at the Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Friday, 03 May 2019 (20:00) @Venetian Theatre at the Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Saturday, 04 May 2019 (20:00) @Venetian Theatre at the Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Wednesday, 08 May 2019 (20:00) @Venetian Theatre at the Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Friday, 10 May 2019 (20:00) @Venetian Theatre at the Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Saturday, 11 May 2019 (20:00) @Venetian Theatre at the Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Sunday, 02 June 2019 (20:00) @The Spirit Store, Dundalk, Ireland
• Thursday, 29 August 2019 (19:30) @Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, Rochester, Michigan, USA
• Sunday, 01 September 2019 (19:30) @Ravinia Pavilion, Highland Park, Illinois, USA
• Monday, 02 September 2019 (19:30) @Ravinia Pavilion, Highland Park, Illinois, USA
• Wednesday, 04 September 2019 (19:00) @Taxslayer Center, Moline, Illinois, USA
• Sunday, 08 September 2019 (19:00) @Pinewood Bowl Theater, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
• Friday, 13 September 2019 (19:30) @Outdoor Amphitheater at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Lincoln, California, USA
• Friday, 13 September 2019 (19:31) @Outdoor Amphitheater at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Lincoln, California, USA
• Tuesday, 17 September 2019 (19:30) @Mountain Winery, Saratoga, California, USA
• Wednesday, 18 September 2019 (19:30) @Mountain Winery, Saratoga, California, USA
• Friday, 25 October 2019 (19:30) @Orpheum Theatre – Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Saturday, 26 October 2019 (19:30) @Orpheum Theatre – Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Tuesday, 29 October 2019 (19:30) @Orpheum Theatre – Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Wednesday, 30 October 2019 (19:30) @Orpheum Theatre – Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Friday, 01 November 2019 (19:30) @Orpheum Theatre – Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Tuesday, 05 November 2019 (19:30) @Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
• Wednesday, 06 November 2019 (20:00) @The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
• Friday, 08 November 2019 (20:00) @The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
• Saturday, 09 November 2019 (20:00) @The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Steely Dan Aja

In September, 1977 Aja Steely Dan’s sixth album was released. It reached the Top Five in the U.S. charts within three weeks. It won the Grammy award for “Engineer – Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical.” It was also one of the first American LPs to be certified ‘platinum’ for sales of over 1 million albums. The album’s first single, “Peg” Featured Michael McDonald’s backing vocals. It was followed by “Josie” and “Deacon Blues”.

Aja solidified Becker’s and Fagen’s reputations as songwriters and studio perfectionists. The album features such jazz and fusion luminaries as guitarists Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour; bassist Chuck Rainey; saxophonists Wayne Shorter, Pete Christlieb, and Tom Scott; drummers Steve Gadd, Rick Marotta and Bernard Purdie; pianist Joe Sample and ex-Miles Davis pianist/vibraphonist Victor Feldman and Grammy award-winning producer/arranger Michael Omartian (piano). The album’s history was documented in an episode of the TV and DVD series Classic Albums.

Steely Dan Members

Current members

• Donald Fagen – lead vocals, keyboards (1972–1981, 1993–present)

Former members

• Walter Becker – guitar, bass, backing and lead vocals (1972–1981, 1993–2017; his death)
• Jeff “Skunk” Baxter – guitar, backing vocals (1972–1974)
• Denny Dias – guitar (1972–1974, studio contributions until 1977)
• Jim Hodder – drums, backing and lead vocals (1972–1974; died 1990)
• David Palmer – backing and lead vocals (1972–1973)
• Royce Jones – backing and lead vocals, percussion (1973–1974)
• Michael McDonald – keyboards, backing vocals (1974, studio contributions until 1980)
• Jeff Porcaro – drums (1974, studio contributions until 1980; died 1992)

Steely Dan Greatest Hits | Best Of Steely Dan

1. “Reelin’ in the Years” (from 1972’s Can’t Buy a Thrill)
2. “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” (Pretzel Logic, 1974)
3. “Peg” (Aja, 1977)
4. “Cousin Dupree” (Two Against Nature, 2000)
5. “Do It Again” (Can’t Buy a Thrill, 1972)
6. “Bodhisattva” (Countdown to Ecstasy, 1973)
7. “Janie Runaway” (Two Against Nature, 2000)
8. “Time Out of Mind” (Gaucho, 1980)
9. “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” (Pretzel Logic, 1974)
10. “Hey Nineteen” (Gaucho, 1980)
11. “Show Biz Kids” (Countdown to Ecstasy, 1973)
12. “Fire in the Hole” (Can’t Buy a Thrill, 1972)
13. “Barrytown” (Pretzel Logic, 1974)
14. “Your Gold Teeth” (Countdown to Ecstasy, 1973)
15. “Deacon Blues” (Aja, 1977)

Steely Dan Live

Steely Dan And Steve Winwood

Steely Dan have announced a string of UK arena dates for February 2019, where they will be joined on stage by Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee Steve Winwood.

Since forming in 1972 Steely Dan have sold over 40 million records worldwide. The band’s acclaimed album Can’t Buy A Thrill was named 145 in Rolling Stone’s 500 albums of all time. Their eighth album, Two Against Nature, saw Steely Dan win an impressive total of four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. The band have celebrated a long history of success having worked with the likes of multi-award winning singers Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross.

Founder member Donald Fagen lost his bandmate Walter Becker on this very day in 2017 after a sudden illness, but he said: “I intend to keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band.”

Joining Steely Dan on tour is Steve Winwood. The multi-talented composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist has sold over 50 million records over a career spanning five decades. He will be performing tracks from his days with The Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic as well as a selection of songs from his fruitful solo career.

Winwood has previously worked with Jimi Hendrix, The Who, James Brown, George Harrison, Tina Turner and more recently Carlos Santana, Tom Petty and Eric Clapton. The BMI icon award winner, honoured for his ‘enduring influence on generations of music makers,’ was named the one of the ‘Greatest Singers of All Time’ in 2010.

SOURCE: www.udiscovermusic.com