Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
“My Old School” is an early one from Steely Dan, and today’s classic song of the day. Included on their second album, Countdown to Ecstasy, “My Old School” was released as a single in October of 1973 and went all the way to #63 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not one of their bigger hits, to be sure, but a…
When it comes to Steely Dan songs, I have trouble picking my favorites, because they’re all so well-made. But today’s classic song of the day, “Doctor Wu,” definitely has a place in my top five. It’s a helluva song. “Doctor Wu” is from 1975’s Katy Lied, which may be my favorite Dan album. (Or maybe The Royal Scam is my…
When I was a freshman at Indiana University during the 1976-1977 schoolyear, everybody in my dorm was listening to Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, while I was listening to Stevie Wonder and Weather Report. And Steely Dan. Lots of Steely Dan. The Steely Dan album that was big my freshman year was The Royal Scam, which was released during my…
Today’s classic song of the day is another stellar track from Steely Dan’s Aja album. Released as a single in November of 1977, “Peg” peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the Cash Box Top 100 early in 1978. “Peg,” written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, is about an aspiring actress trying to break into…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” by Steely Dan. This one’s off their 1974 album, Pretzel Logic. It was released as the B-side of their “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” single, in April of 1974. “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” is (fairly) optimistic and comforting, for a Dan song, with the protagonist…
Today’s classic song of the day is an early one from Steely Dan, the hard rockin’ shuffle “Reelin’ in the Years.” It was featured on their debut album, Can’t Buy a Thrill, and released as a single by ABC Records in March of 1973. The single went all the way to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on…
Today is the Friday after Thanksgiving here in the United States, what we call Black Friday. That’s because it’s the day that shoppers go crazy snatching up ridiculous deals on all sorts of merchandise, racking up sales so big that merchants who might have been in the red all year long make enough money to finally go into the black.…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Bad Sneakers” by Steely Dan, the second track on side one of Steely Dan’s 1975 album, Katy Lied. It was released as the second single from the album (the first was “Black Lightning,” which peaked at #37 on the charts), even though it only hit #103 on the Billboard Hot 100—which, if you…
Today’s classic song of the day is one of my favorite Steely Dan tunes, “Kid Charlemagne.” This one was the lead track (side one, track one) of the Dan’s 1976 album, The Royal Scam. Released as a single, “Kid Charlemagne” only reached #82 on the Billboard Hot 100. As a classic album track, it’s had a lasting influence that exceeds…