Remembering Steely Dan’s Walter Becker

Summary

The website content is a tribute to Walter Becker, co-founder of Steely Dan, highlighting the band's unique approach to music and Becker's lasting legacy.

Abstract

The article reflects on the life and work of Walter Becker, who alongside Donald Fagen, formed the influential jazz-rock band Steely Dan. Known for their meticulous and precise approach to music, Becker and Fagen crafted a sound that defied easy categorization and achieved widespread appeal. The duo's willingness to swap musicians to achieve the perfect sound is noted, with Becker himself stepping back from playing on some tracks of their iconic album "Aja." Despite their unconventional methods, Steely Dan's music has remained popular across various platforms, from radio stations to grocery store playlists. The article commemorates Becker's passing in 2017 and invites readers to share their favorite Steely Dan tracks, while also encouraging Medium membership to support stories like this.

Opinions

The author suggests that Steely Dan's music, characterized by its precision and perfection, is akin to scientific experimentation in a lab, with The Village Recorder being their equivalent of Edison's Menlo Park.
It is implied that the band's success lies in their ability to create timeless music that resonates across different audiences and settings.
The article expresses admiration for Becker and Fagen's commitment to their craft, as evidenced by their willingness to use different musician lineups for each track to achieve the desired sound.
The author highlights the paradox of Steely Dan's music being both unique and mainstream, maintaining relevance across various listening environments.
Becker's own words convey a sense of gratitude for the band's audience, acknowledging their niche but dedicated fan base.
The piece concludes with a personal call to action, inviting readers to engage with the content by sharing their favorite tracks and considering Medium membership to support the author and similar stories.

Remembering Steely Dan’s Walter Becker

Perfection and precision can be funny things — especially in music, where all you really need are “three chords and the truth.”

Rarer still is the group that turns that alchemy into sounds with a unique (that is to say, hard to categorize) but universal appeal.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, aka Steely Dan did just that. Obsessive musicians on a perpetual quest to hit just the right mix of notes, they would’ve been at home in a lab. And in many ways, the studio was their lab. Edison had Menlo Park. Becker and Fagen The Village Recorder.

To operate smoothly, a machine needs every part to work well and work together. Becker and Fagen did this by swapping musicians in and out of songs. On the Aja album, there were 6 different lineups for 7 tracks.

Recognizing that Chuck Rainey could play the parts better, Becker even took himself out of the lineup for “Black Cow,” “Aja,” and “Peg.”

The end result of this endless iterating? Timeless music. Music that is (strangely) at home on the AM dial, at your local college radio station, and in the grocery store. You can still hear songs like Hey Nineteen and Peg fairly often.

As Becker himself noted:

We have been fortunate enough to do something that has always been out of the mainstream and yet have an audience for what we do.

We lost Becker on this day in 2017, but his legacy lives on the sounds of Steely Dan. On our radios, in our earbuds, and overhead in the aisles at Safeway.

Have a favorite track by Steely Dan or Becker himself? Let me know in the comments!

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