Some of the music grew on us, though. While I remained more of a slam-bang, big-hair guitar rock aficionado, I developed and still retained a sneaking admiration for Steely Dan, that creation of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. They had a neat sound, and I still have a modest Steely Dan playlist today.

Here, without further ado, are seven of my favorites.

Peg (1977): While there was much speculation as to who this song refers to – Broadway star Peg Entwhistle among the candidates – in 2020, Donald Fagen said, “We just wanted a dotted half note for that spot, and ‘Peg’ was short enough to fit with the music.”  He also indicated that the song took place at a “…seedy photo shoot in LA, from the perspective of a jilted boyfriend.” It’s hard to credit that, given the rather sunny tone of the song, but I guess Donald Fagen knows of whence he speaks.

Babylon Sisters (1980): This one has almost a jazz sound to it. As befits the name of the song and the people it refers to, it’s a song about fallen women, fallen people in general; self-indulgent, decadent lifestyles in general. That seems to be a constant refrain in Steely Dan songs – and in a lot of niche band music, for that matter.

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Hey Nineteen (1980): The older I get, the more I appreciate this song. One sees older guys taking up with younger women a lot, of course, especially when the older guy has a big… bank account. But when I see that, a guy my age taking up with a girl younger than my daughters, I always wonder, what do they talk about? That’s a big gap in temporal life experiences. And that’s the gist of “Hey Nineteen.”

My Old School (1973): This is an interesting one. The song describes a May 1969 drug bust at Bard College in Annandale, New York. One line claims that the singer will never go back to Annandale until “California tumbles into the sea.” There’s also a G. Gordon Liddy reference, as another line describes a young woman involved in the affair betraying them to “Daddy G.” Liddy was the local assistant district attorney at the time. It’s a fun song, with a typical early Steely Dan sound to it.Kid Charlamagne (1976): This was the first song on the platter for the 1976 album “The Royal Scam,” and both Becker and Fagan indicated that it was based on the San Francisco LSD chemist Owsley Stanley. The song even ends up describing Stanley’s arrest in 1967, after his car ran out of gas.

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Do It Again (1972): I’m not aware of any story behind this one, but it has a neat sound. This was the first single released from Steely Dan’s debut album, “Can’t Buy a Thrill,” and it hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 – not bad at all for a new band with their first single in those days.

Deacon Blues (1977): This one comes off my favorite Steely Dan album, 1976’s “Aja.” (“Deacon Blues” was released as a single in 1977.) The premise is simple; if a winning football can have an impressive name, then a lifelong loser should be able to have one as well:

They got a name for the winners in the world

I want a name when I lose

They call Alabama the Crimson Tide

Call me Deacon Blues

I still listen to Steely Dan from time to time. My “Seventies” playlist has these seven on it (yes, that’s how I selected them) and I still have a few albums around; I actually stood in line to buy “Aja,” although only for ten minutes or so, quite unlike the several hours I waited to buy my LP of Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic.”

Have any Steely Dan favorites of your own? The comments are all yours! Hit me with your best shot.