Steely Dan

Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in 1971 by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Their music blends jazz rock, soft rock, pop, R&B, funk, blues, and sophisticated studio rock, with complex harmonies, polished production, and literate, often ironic lyrics. Apple Music describes their sound as a refined mix of jazz, traditional pop, blues, and R&B with complex harmonies and studio precision.

Their most important albums include Can’t Buy a Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja, Gaucho, Two Against Nature, and Everything Must Go. Key songs include “Do It Again,” “Reelin’ in the Years,” “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” “My Old School,” “Black Friday,” “Kid Charlemagne,” “Peg,” “Deacon Blues,” “Josie,” “FM,” and “Hey Nineteen.” Deezer and Apple Music list many of these titles among their catalogue and top songs.

They are known for turning rock into a highly polished, jazz-influenced studio art form. Albums such as Aja and Gaucho are especially admired by musicians and audiophile listeners for their arrangements, session-player performances, and production quality. Steely Dan were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and Two Against Nature won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.