Walter Becker Dead at 67

[Harry Dresden]

​

That is a top five Steely Dan song for me. The bass line wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but they have some stuff that Chuck Rainey did that I could NEVER figure out. Have you listened to any of Donald Fagen's solo stuff? This is one of my favorite songs but I gave up trying to "chart" this song 5 years ago....it's off of his first solo album.

BTW, thank you for creating this thread and sharing these memories. This hits me hard because he was one of my musical icons.

I've scanned that LP yes but found it disappointing next to SD. Outstanding cover though.

Donald Fagan has more solo work outside of his first one in 1982 and I only discovered most of it 5 years ago....some I totally dig and some? Not so much.... but I am in awe of Donald Fagen's writing ability and the way he takes command of a studio and puts out such a unique sound.

On a side note, this is a prime example of how even though we may differ on many issue? We are in total agreement as it pertains to the greatness of Steely Dan...that alone makes me respect (at the very least) your musical tastes. I think that finding common ground is easier than we think.

Music is the great equalizer innit?

I once started a thread on politicians and celebrities playing music, totally outside of their politics, so that we could get a look at them as humans. From Richard Nixon to Robert Byrd. Tony Snow, Stephen Harper, Bill Clinton, the Singing Senators... once in a while ya gotta reset from all the demonization.

BTW did you know Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (so named because he hates to bathe) now chairs a Congressional advisory board on missile defense?

True story.

Music is the great equalizer innit?
yes it is.....music was one of the first interracial mediums.... even Bach once said....."the Horn player is a black man?....ill be damned"....

 

[Pogo]

What more fitting coda ...

​

Home at last, Walter.

 

[Dale Smith]

What more fitting coda ...

​

Home at last, Walter.

Why is it that I actually envy Walter Becker? I don't feel like I belong here anymore and I am ready to go home....wherever that may be. I feel like a total stranger here now and I am soooo tired.

 

[Dale Smith]

 

[Pogo]

>> Friends of late Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker have shared what they know of the health issues that led to his passing on Sept. 3 at the age of 67. While he’d struggled with his health for at least a decade, he was such a private person that many close acquaintances weren’t aware of how sick he’d become.

“I understand Walter was ill,” comedian Chevy Chase told Rolling Stone. “But I had no idea how sick.” The report also pointed out that no cause of death had been revealed. Another friend, singer Krishna Das, said: “The last time I saw him he was going to try another round of treatments for hep C.”

Becker’s health had declined such that Steely Dan had begun performing shows without him, after he’d had to leave the stage at New York’s Beacon Theatre in 2013, then undergone an unspecified medical procedure before a show last year. “That was always looming,” said bassist and producer Larry Klein of liver problems suffered by Becker. “If we went out to dinner he couldn’t order a glass of wine. He had to have a real clean liver.” << -- The Last Days of Walter Becker
​

Chevy Chase played drums in a band (prior to Steely Dan) with Becker and Fagen.

 

[Dale Smith]

 

[Dale Smith]