Walter Becker, Founding Member of Steely Dan, Has Died

[pbmax]

Reuters Top News @Reuters 10m10 minutes ago

Walter Becker, guitarist who co-founded Steely Dan, dead at age 67 http://reut.rs/2guO8Ev

[red]

who?

and i'm a guitarist

not everyone who was once in a band needs to be front page news when they die

[Harlan Huckleby]

who?

and i'm a guitarist

not everyone who was once in a band needs to be front page news when they die

You must be young. Steely Dan rocked the suburbs and college dorms back in their day.

I think they appealed more to men than women, not sure why. I guess they were slightly sterile - didn't hit you in the gut or anything - but their music was good fun.

[Harlan Huckleby]

1973!? Didn't realize it was THAT long ago.

[Freak Out]

Fuck you Red. RIP....great musician, writer and a master in the studio. They put together some amazing bands and produced some iconic albums over the years.

[red]

i know who/what steely dan is, they're the band that when they come on the radio, i have to change the channel

[Harlan Huckleby]

you're thinking of steeler's wheel

[red]

no, i'm not

[wist43]

Steely Dan was Walter Becker and Donald Fagan...

Was in New York a couple of weeks ago and heard an interview with Donald Fagan... he is doing some shows work with some jazz players - younger guys.

Not crazy about jazz, but have a lot of respect for Becker and Fagan.

RIP

[Zool]

I'm with Red on this one. No disrespect to the guys memory, but I fucking hate Steely Dan.

[mraynrand]

1973!? Didn't realize it was THAT long ago.

Great stuff. Guys wearing drapes, platform shoes, afros, long hair and open stretch polyester shirts. "thinking man's music" riiiiiight.

Steely Dan was 'old music' thirty years ago.

[Iron Mike]

Any band that names themselves after a dildo is cool by me.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Steely Dan made excellent pop music, and it was far more sophisticated and creative than most bands. Nothing wrong with hating what they churned out, it's subjective. They mixed different genres, and were partially a 70s "white soul" band. But like Hall & Oates, or "The Average White Band", the music didn't move me deeply. I just liked it. Steely Dan were cooler and jazzier than Hall & Oates, they were more FM than AM radio.
I listened to "Aja" again, their hit late 70s hit album. It is cool bachelor pad music. Like Herbie Hancock's "Headhunters."

I compare the fine craftsmanship of Steely Dan albums to Stevie Wonder's great albums of the 70s. But Stevie Wonder's stuff is better, it's art.

Does anybody remember Steeleye Span? You shouldn't because they made stiff British folk music, and you should remember Fairport Convention instead.

[mraynrand]

I compare the fine craftsmanship of Steely Dan albums to Stevie Wonder's great albums of the 70s. But Stevie Wonder's stuff is better, it's art.

It's talented stuff.

I like "Innervisions", but I still like "Once in my life" better (that's 60s not seventies though). some of the SJW stuff is a bit tedious, if understandable for the times.

[mraynrand]

I have 'Talking Book' on vinyl. That's pretty good too.