Donald Fagen
b. 10 January 1948, Passaic, New Jersey, USA. A graduate of New York's Bard College, Fagen joined fellow student Walter Becker in several temporary groups, including the Leather Canary and Bad Rock Group. The duo then forged a career as songwriters—their demos were later compiled on several exploitative releases—and spent several years backing Jay & The Americans. Having completed the soundtrack to YOU GOTTA WALK IT LIKE YOU TALK IT (OR YOU'LL LOSE THAT BEAT), a low-budget film by Zalman King, Fagen and Becker then formed Steely Dan. Arguably one of America's finest groups, their deft, imaginative lyrics were set into a music combining the thrill of rock with the astuteness of jazz. Although initially a sextet, the group soon became an avenue for the duo's increasingly oblique vision as band members were replaced by hirelings. Their partnership was sundered in June 1981, but two years later Fagen re-emerged with THE NIGHTFLY. Abetted by Dan producer Gary Katz, the singer simply continued the peerless perfection of his earlier outfit with a set indebted to state-of-the-art techniques, yet in part invoking the aura of '50s’ and early '60s’ America. The cover shot, depicting the artist as a late-night jazz disc jockey, set the tone for its content wherein Fagen name-dropped Dave Brubeck, re-created Ruby Baby, a 1956 hit for the Drifters and, in Maxine, suggested the close harmony style of The Hi-Lo's or Four Freshmen. Fagen subsequently contributed to Rosie Vela's ZAZU and later scored the Michael J. Fox film, BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, from which the excellent Century's End was culled as a single. In May 1990 Fagen was reunited with Becker at New York's Hit Factory studios, signalling the revival of Steely Dan. In the spring of 1993 the long-awaited second album was released, to much critical acclaim.