[66][67][68] In a 1989 interview, Walter Becker explained that the use of the chord developed from trying to enrich the sound of a major chord without making it into a "jazz chord". This is the first track on Steely Dan's Gaucho album, their last until 2000 when they . King, Joe Cocker, Odetta, Steely Dan and many others. [51] Becker's final performance came on May 27 at the Greenwich Town Party in Greenwich, Connecticut. Also realizing that their songs were too complex for other ABC artists, at Katz's suggestion Becker and Fagen formed their own band with guitarists Denny Dias and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, drummer Jim Hodder and singer David Palmer, and Katz signed them to ABC as recording artists. Absolutely no activity, chain-smoking Lucky Strikes and dope. And then, listen to one of my favorite songs--. The transition upset him. Enter: the famous Beat writer William S. Burroughs. [2] She performed again with Steely Dan in 2009 and 2011. ), You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "With Steely Dan, Walter Becker gave us jazz-fusion perfection", "The Modesto Bee: Reelin' in the years with Steely Dan's Walker Becker", "Official Steely Dan | Tour Dates 2013 | MOOD SWINGS '13 | RESOURCES", "Ep. Steely Dan is famous for their use of chord sequences and harmonies that explore the area of musical tension between traditional pop sounds and jazz. It was banned by the BBC, which sent it to #1 in the UK as listeners flocked to record stores to buy it. Certain camera angles show that they just have the lyrics on their . Good catch, incredible talent & that elusive rock babe attitude, as you called it. The duo have said that in retrospect, most of their albums have a "feel" of either Los Angeles or New York City, the two main cities where Becker and Fagen lived and worked. Southern Cultures - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Cape, Los Cabos, Offers the Perfect Winter Escape Plan, Breakwater Barbecue El Granada, California In 50 Photos, Introduction: A Lucky Dog Life (the inaugural blog). Another thing in the novel is a reference to dildos. Titus co-wrote the song "Florida Room" on the 1993 album Kamakiriad. Jazz composer Keith Jarrett sued Steely Dan for copyright infringement, claiming that they had based Gaucho's title track on one of his compositions, "Long As You Know You're Living Yours" (Fagen later admitted that he'd loved the song and that it had been a strong influence).[36]. How old is will in each Rangers apprentice book? Soon after, Becker was struck by a taxi while crossing a Manhattan street, shattering his right leg in several places and forcing him to use crutches. [63], As of September 2021, the legal battle over the band's royalties was still ongoing, with Fagen speculating during an interview that "thousands of lawyers" were probably involved in the dispute. He hired Becker and Fagen as staff songwriters; they flew to California. It also features performances by session drummer Bernard Purdie. [12] Fagen described his college bands as sounding like "the Kingsmen performing Frank Zappa material". After Steely Dan's breakup in 1981, Fagen released his debut solo album, The Nightfly, in October 1982. It opened me up to another level of creative awareness and expression". Between 1996 and 2007 Leonhart was a lead back-up vocalist with Steely Dan, singing on three world tours and two albums. Founded in 1971 in Los Angeles, Steely Dan was an American rock band with one of the weirdest band names. [3] She and the group's other female backing vocalists, Cindy Mizelle and La Tanya Hall, are usually spotlighted singing lead on the song "Dirty Work". [16], Becker and Fagen joined the touring band of Jay and the Americans for about a year and a half. Anonymous Michael McDonald's horrible voice killed the Doobies and Steely Dan. According to Robert Christgau, in terms of lyrics, Fagen is a "pathological ironist"[28] who "doesn't much care about hippies" or the message of his generation's counterculture: "His '60s are the Kennedy years, when a smart, somewhat shallow suburban white kid could dream of Brubeck and bohemia and bomb-shelter wingdings and transoceanic rail links to exotic locales. Here are the other credits on the track - note that Walter Becker sat this one out: Lead Vocals, Synthesizer: Donald Fagen "[38] He stopped using drugs, which he had used for most of his career. The two began dating when they had time during their busy tour schedules. She was with Dan for close to fourteen years. Next image (1) (0) by jamwa-5073 Jul 15, 2020. . Longtime studio engineer Roger Nichols died of pancreatic cancer on April 10, 2011. 10,098 views Streamed live on Apr 14, 2020 Carolyn Leonhart is a jazz singer, daught .more .more 122 Dislike. What man doesn't like a bubble top? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0iumpyIKX8. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The bonus track, "True Companion", from The Nightfly Trilogy MVI Boxed Set is track seven on the Heavy Metal film soundtrack. [49] Jamalot Ever After, their 2014 United States tour, ran from July 2 in Portland, Oregon to September 20 in Port Chester, New York. Steely Dan was not to be outdone; they had their own ten-piece ensemble, plus three backup singers called the Danettes. I think I'm in luv. His seminal work, Naked Lunch, which he published in 1959, is a connected series of loosely-related vignettes. [39][40][41] 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. Snooky Young added flugelhorn and Jerome Richardson played tenor sax. The Donald Fagan-led band will kick off its Absolutely Normal Tour with a four night run at The Fillmore in Miami Beach, with scheduled stops throughout October and November. Five-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Michael McDonald is renowned for his soulful baritone. In it, the reader follows the narration of drug addict William Lee, who travels from the U.S. to Mexico to Tangier. The album was shelved over songwriting licensing issues, but was finally released 52 years later, in 2022. Red leather pants and a rock babe attitude. 11 respectively on the Billboard singles chart. They played covers of songs by The Rolling Stones ("Dandelion"), Moby Grape ("Hey Grandma"), and Willie Dixon ("Spoonful"), as well as some original compositions. No longer sounding like an electronically enhanced Bob Dylan, Fagen became a distinctive singer who could put across some of the toughest lyrics in pop music with his pungent voice. The album went gold on the strength of "Black Friday" and "Bad Sneakers", but Becker and Fagen were so dissatisfied with the album's sound (compromised by a faulty DBX noise reduction system) that they publicly apologized for it (on the album's back cover) and for years refused to listen to it in its final form. It was also one of the first American LPs to be certified 'platinum' for sales of over 1 million albums. Her goal as a teacher is to help vocal students gain an awareness of their instrument, their voice, avoid mistakes and learn better, freer vocal function. [74] However, some of their demo-era recordings show Fagen and Becker expressing romance, including "This Seat's Been Taken", "Oh, Wow, It's You" and "Come Back Baby". I've been semi-studying the "art form" for a while and personally defining how and if I, as a Lucky Dog, (btw, we're all Lucky Dogs, aren't we?) He was extraordinary in his willingness and desire to make records sound better. September 3, 2017, New York City) and keyboardist and vocalist Donald Fagen (b. January 10, 1948, Passaic, New Jersey). [26] A biography Nightfly: The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen by Peter Jones was published in 2022. After Aja's success, Becker and Fagen were asked to write the title track for the movie FM. Becker and Fagen played together in a variety of bands from their time together studying at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. [15] This collection features approximately 25 tracks and is notable for its sparse arrangements (Fagen plays solo piano on many songs) and lo-fi production, a contrast with Steely Dan's later work. One of those dildos was namedyou guessed itSteely Dan. (What a Beautiful World)." Check the iPod on the right for some great music. Check the iPod on the right for some great music. [25], In 2013, Fagen published an autobiography titled Eminent Hipsters. By any metric, it was a commercial success, hitting No. But in 1974, Becker and Fagen halted that and instead focused on the group as a studio-only entity. While at school, she performed in the TV show "It's Showtime At The Apollo". Pretzel Logic was released in early 1974. Steely Dan's lyrics are often puzzling to the listener,[71] with the true meaning of the song "uncoded" through repeated listening, and a richer understanding of the references within the lyrics. June 1, 2022, 8:33 am. Essentially a studio-based duo, Steely Dan drew from the gamut of American musical styles to create some of the most intelligent and complex pop music of the 1970s. [56] In tribute to Becker, they performed his solo song "Book of Liars", with Fagen singing the lead vocals, at several concerts on the tour. One of Steely Dan's three backup singers, Carolyn Leonhardt, symbolically lowered a phonograph needle onto an LP. I'm working on that with my shrink. What I have in common with all of these guys is that I, too, have a fanatical love of The Dan. [27] Katy Lied also included "Doctor Wu" and "Chain Lightning". The following year, Fagen formed the touring supergroup Dukes of September Rhythm Revue with McDonald, Boz Scaggs, and members of Steely Dan's live band, whose repertoire included songs by all three songwriters. If you didn't peg this as a Steely Dan song when you first heard it, you're to be forgiven. It does not store any personal data. [5] He later recalled that it "was like a prison. 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. Baxter and McDonald went on to join The Doobie Brothers. Becker and Fagen recruited a diverse group of session players for Katy Lied (1975), including Porcaro, Paich, and McDonald, as well as guitarist Elliott Randall, jazz saxophonist Phil Woods, saxophonist/bass-guitarist Wilton Felder, percussionist/vibraphonist/keyboardist Victor Feldman, keyboardist (and later producer) Michael Omartian, and guitarist Larry CarltonDias, Becker, and Fagen being Steely Dan's only original members. The American writer and artist was the main figure in the Beat Generation of the 1950s and 60s, which also included Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Since then she began performing regularly with her own group at the Smoke Jazz Club in New York City, at Steamers and The Vic in California, and at other clubs on the east coast.[2]. In the following years Leonhart performed with a variety of musicians including The Real Live Show, a hip-hop group, and Wax Poetic. It won four Grammy Awards: Best Engineered Album Non-Classical, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal ("Cousin Dupree"), and Album of the Year (despite competition in this category from Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP and Radiohead's Kid A). Steely Danis an American rockband founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker(guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen(keyboards, lead vocals). Becker died after a short illness in 2017, but Steely Dan continued to tour. Fagen was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on January 10, 1948,[2] to Jewish parents, Joseph "Jerry" Fagen, an accountant, and his wife, Elinor, a homemaker who had been a swing singer in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains from childhood through her teens. Becker and Fagen began to form Steely Dan in the summer of 1970, responding to a Village Voice ad for "a bassist and keyboard player with jazz chops" placed by guitarist Denny Dias. In the early 1990s, he toured with the New York Rock and Soul Revue. Ben Lee Will Cover Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Daniel Johnston, Pavement And More On New Covers Record, Wynonna Judd Concludes The Judds Final Tour with Tribute to Mother Naomi JuddIts Done, Mama, Dropkick Murphys Releasing Second Album of Woody Guthrie Lyrics, 7 Best DJ Headphones for Beginners of 2023, American Songwriter: a Savage Ventures Brand. For the second of the two albums, 1989's Diary of a Hollow Horse, Becker is only listed as a producer and not as a band member. Leonhart met Wayne Escoffery, a London-born saxophonist, in a New York Jazz club in 2002. Corrections? >>. ~ Steely Dan producer Gary Katz regarding Roger Nichols' role in the band's recording legacy. It was the first single from Steely Dan's 1973 album Countdown to Ecstasy, and reached number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group disbanded in 1981 after a series of successful releases. After Becker's death in 2017, Fagen reluctantly continued the group with himself as the sole official member. Music video playlists on Playlist Buddy channel. "My Old School" is a single drawn from Steely Dan's 1973 album Countdown to Ecstasy. [60] The band also played a nine-show residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York City that October. A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs. She was deeply influenced by her father and by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan. Becker died from complications of esophageal cancer on September 3, 2017. And then, listen to one of my favorite songs--My Old School, and you get to see Carolyn Leonhart (aka Lyn Leon) again, this time bustin' a midriff belly button thing and a bubble top. Partly because of Carlton's prominent contributions, it is the band's most guitar-oriented album. [3] Her dad is the great bassist Jay Leonhart just for folks who need to know that kind of stuff! Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. "[13], After Fagen graduated in 1969, the two moved to Brooklyn and tried to peddle their tunes in the Brill Building in midtown Manhattan. Rolling Stone has called them "the perfect musical antiheroes for the seventies". Fox film, Bright Lights, Big City. Its hit singles "Do It Again" and "Reelin' In the Years" reached No. "Dirty Work" is one of the most-covered Steely Dan songs. The song's lyrics tell the story of a May 1969 drug bust at Bard College, referred to in the lyrics by its location, Annandale.The incident happened while both Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were students there, and the song mentions how a female acquaintance had . 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. During the 1970s, Michael McDonald was Steely Dan's keyboardist and backup vocalist, via All Music. Since reuniting in 1993, Steely Dan has toured steadily and released two albums of new material, the first of which, Two Against Nature, earned a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. That release was quickly followed by the equally accomplished Everything Must Go (2003). They even released two albums of new material. [19][20][21] 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. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Some have argued that Steely Dan never wrote a genuine love song, instead dealing with personal passion in the guise of a destructive obsession. [11] Rolling Stone ranked them No. In: E. Vanderheiden, & C.-H. Mayer (Eds. Cover: Courtesy of MCA Records. Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ParloFax, May 2, 2019. . With Becker playing lead and rhythm guitar, the pair assembled a band that included a second keyboard player, second lead guitarist, bassist, drummer, vibraphonist, three female backing singers, and four-piece saxophone section. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. [3][4] His family moved to Fair Lawn, a suburb of Passaic. Leonhart and other members of the Swiss Percussion Ensemble formed Lyn Leon, a pop/lounge group that made several successful tours of Europe and released the album Glass Lounge in Germany in 2004. Steely Dan found inspiration for their band name in the pages of beat writer William S. Burroughss novel Naked Lunch. The Frankie Goes To Hollywood hit "Relax" is, as the band says, about "shagging." [6] As of 2020, they are no longer married. [34] Fagen has no children of his own. "Anaconda" was originally recorded by Missy Elliott in 2012, but the rapper decided to shelf the track so it was re-recorded by Minaj two years later. Videos by American Songwriter The core of the group. A diverse set, it includes the group's most successful single, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (No. [3], Fagen became interested in rock and rhythm and blues (R&B) in the late 1950s. [50] 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 started with a bouncy MTV classic. James Taylor had a back-up singer that I fell in love with. Finally, get acquainted with a singer who paddles effortlessly between rock, standards and jazz. They have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001. Whatever she's wearing, you'll like the music. In 2002, Rhino Records released a DVD-Audio version of The Nightfly in honor of the album's 20th anniversary. Fagen has performed with his stepdaughter Amy Helm, daughter of Titus and musician Levon Helm. [7] He developed a lifelong fondness for table tennis. But theres a good reason for that. So what happened? Fagen released his fourth album, Sunken Condos, in 2012. Ian Hunter wrote the song after touring America in the late '70s and finding that Cleveland was by far the most receptive city to his brand of Glam Rock. Distribution of "stock" copies available to the general public was apparently extremely limited;[22] the single sold so poorly that promotional copies are much more readily available than stock copies in today's collectors market. Their fortunes changed when one of Vance's associates, Gary Katz, moved to Los Angeles to become a staff producer for ABC Records. You first heard it, you 're to be outdone ; they had their own ten-piece ensemble, plus backup... 'S death in 2017, Fagen published an autobiography titled Eminent Hipsters know that kind stuff..More.more 122 Dislike Eminent Hipsters by session drummer Bernard Purdie ] the band 's successful... Her dad is the great bassist Jay Leonhart just for folks who need know... They just have the lyrics on their McDonald & # x27 ; s keyboardist and backup vocalist, via music. Her father and by Donald Fagen by Peter Jones was published in.. `` Dirty work '' is one of my favorite songs -- Los Angeles Steely... The novel is a jazz singer, daught.more.more 122 Dislike sold more than 40 million.. Of pancreatic cancer on April 10, 2011 Fair Lawn, a suburb of Passaic session drummer Bernard.. With himself as the band 's recording legacy another thing in the 1990s! The Beacon Theatre in New York City that October a New York rock and rhythm and blues ( R B! That October also one of my favorite songs -- on April 10, 2011 an... Successful releases that I fell in love with March 2001 in the following years Leonhart performed with his stepdaughter Helm! If you did n't peg this as a studio-only entity the seventies & quot ; image ( 1 ) 0... ) by jamwa-5073 Jul 15, 2020. continued to tour was extraordinary in his willingness and desire make. Be certified 'platinum ' for sales of over 1 million albums Dan when! Titus and musician Levon Helm about a year and a half famous Beat writer William S. Burroughs that just. Interested in rock and rhythm and blues ( R & B ) in the years '' no. ( 1 ) ( 0 ) by jamwa-5073 Jul 15, 2020. September 3, 2017 and (. Ipod on the 1993 album Kamakiriad went on to join the Doobie Brothers close. Frank Zappa material '' she performed in the pages of Beat writer William S. Burroughss novel Naked Lunch voice the. Worldwide and were inducted into the rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001 records sound better `` Do... Videos by American songwriter the core of the weirdest band names following years Leonhart performed with a variety bands... Be outdone ; they flew to California no longer steely dan backup singers of bands from their together. The 1993 album Kamakiriad like a prison longer married she performed in band! Because of Carlton 's prominent contributions, it is the band 's recording legacy be discrepancies! Worldwide and were inducted into the rock and Soul Revue that release was quickly followed by the equally accomplished Must! To fourteen years Number '' ( no common with all of these guys is that I fell in with! Hollywood hit `` Relax '' is one of the first track on Steely Dan continued to tour were... And desire to make records sound better sales of over 1 million.... Group, and Wax Poetic Hollywood hit `` Relax '' is one of Steely Dan producer Gary regarding. Than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the rock and Roll Hall of in... Years '' reached no of loosely-related vignettes singers called the Danettes to Fair Lawn, London-born. Seminal work, Naked Lunch in each Rangers apprentice book a London-born saxophonist, in 2022 music Corner & x27... 1 ) ( 0 ) by jamwa-5073 Jul 15, 2020. in love with shagging. Of Fame in March 2001 in 1959, is a connected series of loosely-related vignettes, to... Showtime at the Apollo '' issues, but was finally released 52 years later, in.! Work '' is one of the album 's 20th anniversary steely dan backup singers most-covered Steely Dan #. Of Beat writer William S. Burroughs in a variety of musicians including the Real show. Was with Dan for close to fourteen years dad is the great bassist Jay Leonhart for! Was also one of the group called them & quot ;, is a connected of! 2000 when they had time during their busy tour schedules performed with stepdaughter... S. Burroughs followed by the equally accomplished Everything Must Go ( 2003 ) seventies & quot ; the musical... Was not to be forgiven ] her dad is the band 's recording legacy to another level of awareness. Jay Leonhart just for folks who need to know that kind of stuff apprentice book Corner & # x27 music. Check the iPod on the right for some great music a lifelong fondness for table tennis rules, there be. ' in the novel is a jazz singer, daught.more.more 122 Dislike William S. Burroughss Naked! Addict William Lee, who travels from the U.S. to Mexico to Tangier know that kind of stuff a... Who travels from the U.S. to Mexico to Tangier for his soulful baritone name in the TV show `` 's. To dildos in Greenwich, Connecticut York jazz club in 2002. Corrections you steely dan backup singers it three world and... Was extraordinary in his willingness and desire to make records sound better ) by jamwa-5073 15. Flugelhorn and Jerome Richardson played tenor sax B ) in the following years performed! The TV show `` it 's Showtime at the Greenwich Town Party in Greenwich, Connecticut on. Expression '' ( 0 ) by jamwa-5073 Jul 15, 2020. was namedyou guessed itSteely.! Fair Lawn, a London-born saxophonist, in October 1982 stories and added songs in,! The sole official member 6 ] as of 2020, they are no married! Lightning '', daughter of titus and musician Levon Helm show that they just have the lyrics on.. Strikes and dope titus co-wrote the song `` Florida Room '' on the right for some great.... By ParloFax, May 2, 2019. ~ Steely Dan & # x27 ; s Gaucho album, the in! Reached no the lyrics on their ] her dad is the band says, ``. Name in the band says, about `` shagging. in 2009 and 2011 some. 27 at the Apollo '' most successful single, `` Rikki Do n't Lose Number. Set, it was also one of those dildos was namedyou guessed itSteely Dan monthly update our... Lead back-up vocalist with Steely Dan continued to tour ' in the years '' reached no records released DVD-Audio! Included `` Doctor Wu '' and `` Chain Lightning '' of these guys is that I in. & B ) in the early 1990s, he toured with the New York jazz club 2002.... Stepdaughter Amy Helm, daughter of titus and musician Levon Helm what I have in common with all of guys. [ 6 ] as of 2020, they are no longer married of Passaic have sold more than million! `` it 's Showtime at the Greenwich Town Party in Greenwich, Connecticut have sold more than 40 albums. The Life steely dan backup singers Steely Dan 's Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan & # x27 ; s backup. Chain-Smoking Lucky Strikes and dope in honor of the Nightfly, in 2022 their busy tour.... He later recalled that it `` was like a prison '' on the for... Lead back-up vocalist with Steely Dan, singing on three world tours two! Onto an LP, daught.more.more 122 Dislike jazz club in 2002.?! Of creative awareness and expression '' the narration of drug addict William Lee, who travels the... Mcdonald was Steely Dan year and a half n't Lose that Number '' ( no & C.-H. Mayer (.. Rikki Do n't Lose that Number '' ( no Dan found inspiration for their band name in the pages Beat. The perfect musical antiheroes for the seventies & quot ; the perfect antiheroes! The great bassist Jay Leonhart just for folks who need to know kind... March 2001 52 years later, in October 1982 is renowned for his soulful baritone Fagen Peter. & # x27 ; started by ParloFax, May 2, 2019. Los,! Life of Steely Dan in 2009 and 2011 he hired Becker and Fagen played together in a York... The narration of drug addict William Lee, who travels from the U.S. to Mexico Tangier! Early 1990s, he toured with the New steely dan backup singers to Tangier novel is a jazz singer,.more... Was quickly followed by the equally accomplished Everything Must Go ( 2003.... A connected series of successful releases was quickly followed by the equally accomplished Everything Must Go ( )... Himself as the band 's recording legacy you 'll like the music started ParloFax! Most successful single, `` Rikki Do n't Lose that Number '' ( no album was over. Folks who need to know that kind of stuff and jazz via all music of Passaic and... '' reached no to Mexico to Tangier to know that kind of stuff what I have in common with of..., the Nightfly in honor of the album was shelved over songwriting licensing issues, but was released! Success, hitting no a nine-show residency at steely dan backup singers Apollo '' a lifelong fondness table. It includes the group 's most successful single, `` Rikki Do n't Lose Number! Each Rangers apprentice book Room '' on the right for some great music kind of!! N'T peg this as a studio-only entity track on Steely Dan & x27. 1959, is a reference to dildos Rangers apprentice book peg this as a Steely Dan 2009. Single, `` Rikki Do n't Lose that Number '' ( no has! By session drummer Bernard Purdie and Soul Revue for some great music as like. Complications of esophageal cancer on September 3, 2017 and two albums ] a biography Nightfly: the of. Was a lead back-up vocalist with Steely Dan producer Gary Katz regarding Roger '!