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https://www.allmusic.com/artist/donald-fagen-mn [login to see] /biography
Donald Fagen (b. January 10, 1948, Passaic, N.J.) was trained in classical piano from an early age, and while studying English at Bard College, he met Walter Becker (b. February 5, 1950, Brooklyn, N.Y.), who played guitar. Having similar tastes in classical jazz, he and Becker decided to team up as musicians, where they performed as backup tour musicians for Jay and the Americans. Having been discovered by ABC Records executive Gary Katz, they signed a recording contract under the Steely Dan name (taking the name from the William S. Burroughs novel "Naked Lunch") using various studio musicians to perform with them. Steely Dan produced critically-acclaimed albums from 1972 to 1980, after which Fagen and Becker decided to part ways (although they never lost their friendship). Fagen's musical output declined in the 1980's, only producing one well-received album in 1982, but his efforts for a musical comeback in the 1990's (working with the New York Rock & Soul Revue) enabled him to record a Grammy-nominated album, Kamakiriad, in 1993, and his marriage to Libby Titus (who worked with him in the NYR&SR project). This album, produced by his long-time musical companion, Walter Becker, also acted as the impetus to get Walter Becker back in the studio, and he, too, recorded a solo album, "11 Tracks of Whack", in 1994 (produced by both). By this time, Fagen and Becker could not resist the urge to "reunite" Steely Dan and, after a successful live concert tour lasting through 1994-95 (this time with a new group of backup musicians), they decided to record a new studio album. This long-awaited album, "Two Against Nature", was well-received enough to receive two Grammy awards and a third Grammy for the song "Cousin Dupree". Fagen and Becker toured throughout 2000, and are rumored to continue to perform as Steely Dan.
Images:
1. 1982 Donald Fagen The Nightfly
2. 1993 Donald Fagen Kamakiriad.
3. 2012 Donald fagen Morph the Cat.
"Donald Fagen was one of the two masterminds behind Steely Dan, the seminal jazz-pop band of the '70s. Fagen's solo work has been a continuation of the band's work of the early '80s -- carefully constructed and arranged, intricately detailed pop songs that are more substantial than their stylish surface may indicate. His 1982 solo debut, The Nightfly, was the best album he had made in years; it covered the same ground as the last two Steely Dan albums, yet surpassed them in terms of ambition and achievement.
After the success of The Nightfly, Fagen suffered a case of writer's block; for the rest of the decade he contributed music to the occasional film and briefly wrote a column for Premiere magazine in the mid-'80s. In the early '90s, he toured with the New York Rock and Soul Revue as he finished the material for his second album. With his former Steely Dan partner Walter Becker producing, 1993's Kamakiriad sounded like Aja recorded with '90s technology. It had some success on the adult contemporary charts, but it was overshadowed by the duo's decision to re-form Steely Dan and tour for the first time in nearly 20 years; the tour was a massive success. One more album -- 2003's Everything Must Go -- came out of the reunion before Fagen decided to begin work on his third solo album.
With death as its main theme, Morph the Cat appeared in March 2006. Soon after the album's release, Fagen embarked on his first solo tour. It was the beginning of an extended period of live performances for Fagen. Steely Dan toured several of their classic albums in 2009, by which time Fagen had become a regular at Levon Helm's Midnight Rambles in Woodstock, New York. In 2010, Fagen formed the touring blue-eyed soul revue the Dukes of September with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. The group had a second tour in 2012, and after its conclusion, Fagen released the lively Sunken Condos, his first album since Morph the Cat."
FYI LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip RoncariCWO3 Dennis M.SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCordSGT Jim Arnold PO3 Phyllis Maynard Maj Robert Thornton SPC Douglas Bolton Cynthia Croft PO1 H Gene Lawrence PVT Karl Goode PO2 Kevin Parker SGT James Murphy SFC Michael Young MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy SGT Rick Colburn
Donald Fagen (b. January 10, 1948, Passaic, N.J.) was trained in classical piano from an early age, and while studying English at Bard College, he met Walter Becker (b. February 5, 1950, Brooklyn, N.Y.), who played guitar. Having similar tastes in classical jazz, he and Becker decided to team up as musicians, where they performed as backup tour musicians for Jay and the Americans. Having been discovered by ABC Records executive Gary Katz, they signed a recording contract under the Steely Dan name (taking the name from the William S. Burroughs novel "Naked Lunch") using various studio musicians to perform with them. Steely Dan produced critically-acclaimed albums from 1972 to 1980, after which Fagen and Becker decided to part ways (although they never lost their friendship). Fagen's musical output declined in the 1980's, only producing one well-received album in 1982, but his efforts for a musical comeback in the 1990's (working with the New York Rock & Soul Revue) enabled him to record a Grammy-nominated album, Kamakiriad, in 1993, and his marriage to Libby Titus (who worked with him in the NYR&SR project). This album, produced by his long-time musical companion, Walter Becker, also acted as the impetus to get Walter Becker back in the studio, and he, too, recorded a solo album, "11 Tracks of Whack", in 1994 (produced by both). By this time, Fagen and Becker could not resist the urge to "reunite" Steely Dan and, after a successful live concert tour lasting through 1994-95 (this time with a new group of backup musicians), they decided to record a new studio album. This long-awaited album, "Two Against Nature", was well-received enough to receive two Grammy awards and a third Grammy for the song "Cousin Dupree". Fagen and Becker toured throughout 2000, and are rumored to continue to perform as Steely Dan.
Images:
1. 1982 Donald Fagen The Nightfly
2. 1993 Donald Fagen Kamakiriad.
3. 2012 Donald fagen Morph the Cat.
"Donald Fagen was one of the two masterminds behind Steely Dan, the seminal jazz-pop band of the '70s. Fagen's solo work has been a continuation of the band's work of the early '80s -- carefully constructed and arranged, intricately detailed pop songs that are more substantial than their stylish surface may indicate. His 1982 solo debut, The Nightfly, was the best album he had made in years; it covered the same ground as the last two Steely Dan albums, yet surpassed them in terms of ambition and achievement.
After the success of The Nightfly, Fagen suffered a case of writer's block; for the rest of the decade he contributed music to the occasional film and briefly wrote a column for Premiere magazine in the mid-'80s. In the early '90s, he toured with the New York Rock and Soul Revue as he finished the material for his second album. With his former Steely Dan partner Walter Becker producing, 1993's Kamakiriad sounded like Aja recorded with '90s technology. It had some success on the adult contemporary charts, but it was overshadowed by the duo's decision to re-form Steely Dan and tour for the first time in nearly 20 years; the tour was a massive success. One more album -- 2003's Everything Must Go -- came out of the reunion before Fagen decided to begin work on his third solo album.
With death as its main theme, Morph the Cat appeared in March 2006. Soon after the album's release, Fagen embarked on his first solo tour. It was the beginning of an extended period of live performances for Fagen. Steely Dan toured several of their classic albums in 2009, by which time Fagen had become a regular at Levon Helm's Midnight Rambles in Woodstock, New York. In 2010, Fagen formed the touring blue-eyed soul revue the Dukes of September with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. The group had a second tour in 2012, and after its conclusion, Fagen released the lively Sunken Condos, his first album since Morph the Cat."
FYI LTC Jeff ShearerSGT Philip RoncariCWO3 Dennis M.SGT (Join to see)PO3 Bob McCordSGT Jim Arnold PO3 Phyllis Maynard Maj Robert Thornton SPC Douglas Bolton Cynthia Croft PO1 H Gene Lawrence PVT Karl Goode PO2 Kevin Parker SGT James Murphy SFC Michael Young MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy SGT Rick Colburn
Rock Music
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Classic Rock
Edited 6 y ago
Posted 6 y ago
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