Reelin' in the Years

We lost Walter Becker today. He was only 67 years old. Though I grew up listening to Steely Dan (one of the great band names in rock history) I can't say that I was a fan. I knew the songs that hit the radio. I became a bigger fan when I began teaching rock history in the 1990s at St. Cloud State. When people talk about horn bands they generally go to Chicago or Blood, Sweat and Tears as the model. The argument can be made that Steely Dan was one of the great horn bands and definitely one of the bands that combined genres like rock, jazz and so many others in a cogent and cohesive way. I have my favorite albums (AJA and Gaucho) but also there are so many songs from the other albums that are wonderful including Reelin' in the Years, Rikki Don't Lose that Number, Do it Again, and so many others. They were not really a band after the first album but rather a collection of amazing musicians like Michael McDonald (Peg's background vocals are Art) and Skunk Baxter among others. The point is that I love this music and now one of the two guys responsible for it is gone. Not a great day.