"Josie"
Artist - Steely Dan
Steely Dan is not a rock band in the traditional sense; rock critics have called it everything from a "concept" to a "non-band." Whatever the configuration is labeled, it is an outlet for songwriters Walter Becker and Donald Fagan, the only two permanent "members." The pair met at Bard College in the late 1960s. Both were jazz fans with a warped sense of humor who liked beat poetry, absurdist literature, and songwriting. They joined a few bands (including one, the Bad Rock Group, which included a novice drummer and sometime actor named Chevy Chase) before devoting their energies to songwriting. Becker and Fagan sold a few songs to the Brill Building, but only one was ever recorded. Nonetheless, ABC Records in Los Angeles gave them a publishing deal. The company found that most of the pair's lyrics were too dark and quirky for its stable of artists, but recognized their quality and appeal. Eventually, ABC recommended that Becker and Fagan form a band and record their own songs. They recruited some local musicians, named their new group Steely Dan (after a dildo in William Burroughs' book Naked Lunch), and cut Can't Buy a Thrill. One of the tracks, "Do It Again," was a surprise top five hit and launched the totally unprepared group into the rock mainstream.
Even in the early 1970s, when almost anything went in rock an roll, Steely Dan was an unusual group. Their sound was rooted in jazz, but was also influenced by pop, R&B, classical, and folk music. Their lyrics were poetic, but the meaning of those lyrics was not always clear to audiences; most were sarcastic and loaded with obscure references. The band's music was post-folk-rock for the intellectual set, indie rock before such a thing had a name. Many listeners commented that there was something vaguely sinister in many of the band's lyrics, but their melodies were strangely captivating. Their arrangements were loaded with complicated jazz harmonies and time signatures, yet the songs were hooky enough for pop radio. Becker and Fagan realized that they hated touring while on the road to support Can't Buy a Thrill. They dissolved their backup band in 1974 (two of its members, Skunk Baxter and Michael McDonald, went on to join the Doobie Brothers) and devoted themselves to studio work.
Critics often dubbed the music of the "reformed" Steely Dan "slick," "glossy," and "chilly," and complained that their records lacked passion. Consumers failed to notice, and Steely Dan's mid-1970s output—particularly The Royal Scam and Aja—went platinum, despite their sophisticated jazz orientation. After Aja, Becker and Fagan spent three years in the studio crafting the follow up, Gaucho, which reached the top ten on the album charts but was pilloried in the press as antiseptic, pompous, and overly arcane. In the aftermath Steely Dan officially dissolved. They unexpectedly reunited in the early 1990s to—of all things—tour in support of Fagan and Becker's respective solo albums. In 2000 they went back into the studio to cut Two Against Nature, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Also see: Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Charlie Parker, Spike Jones, Jeff Beck
Must Haves:
- "Reelin' in the Years"
- "Bodhisattva"
- "Kid Charlemagn"
- "Babylon Sisters"
- "Rikki Don't Lose that Number"
Performers Influenced By This Artist:
- Nellie McKay
- Prefab Sprout
- Everything But the Girl
- Suzanne Vega
- Barenaked Ladies
"Da Doo Ron Ron"
Artist - The Crystals
The Crystals were instrumental in popularizing the "girl group" sound of the early 1960s and Phil Spector's dense, string-heavy "wall of sound" production style. They were also one of the most successful girl groups of the era. The quintet was assembled by bandleader Benny Wells to showcase his niece, Barbara Alston; however, she most often sang backup. All of the members had gospel backgrounds, but Wells convinced them that a female a capella group would do better performing pop music.
One of the Crystals first jobs was making demo recordings of new songs for the music publisher Hill & Range. Their offices were fortuitously located in the Brill Building; Phil Spector heard the group while they were rehearsing and he quickly signed them to Philles, his new label. In September 1961, immediately after the members of the group graduated from high school (so immediately that, acc
ording to legend, they were still wearing their caps and gowns), they made their first record. The Crystals had a few modest successes before Spector gave them their first big hit, the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil song "Uptown," one of first songs that balanced an attractive pop arrangement with socially relevant lyrics. One assumes this was the motive behind the Crystals' next record, the infamous "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)." Cynthia Weil and Gerry Goffin wrote the song, a narrative about a woman confessing her infidelity and the reaction of her "loving" partner, after they discovered that their babysitter, who recorded as Little Eva, had been physically abused by her boyfriend. The song was likely intended to be a sarcastic message about why women tolerate abuse, but none of this came through on record. Despite Spector's dark instrumentals, the chirpy backing vocals made the song sound like a disturbing endorsement of domestic violence. Most radio stations refused to play the record, and consumers didn't buy it. The song was eventually withdrawn from the group's catalogue, and members of the Crystals have since testified that they objected to recording it.
Ironically, none of the members of the Crystals sang on one of their biggest hits. Spector was at home in Los Angeles when an opportunity arose to record the Gene Pitney tune "He's a Rebel." The group, however, was in New York, and instead of flying to New York, Spector brought in Darlene Love and the Blossoms to record the song as the Crystals. However, the "original" Crystals did record "Da Doo Ron Ron," and "Then He Kissed Me" in 1963, a pair of songs that epitomize Spector's dense "wall of sound." Both were top ten hits in the United States and the United Kingdom. The group recorded a few more minor hits before Spector shifted his attention to Victoria Bennett and the Ronnettes. The Crystals bought out their contract in 1965 and moved to another label, but by this time the era of the girl groups was largely over, and they broke up in 1966.
Also see: The Robins, The Chantels, The Bobbettes, The Caravans, Dorothy Love Coated and the Gospel Harmonettes, The Angelics
Must Haves:
- "Uptown" (Buck Owens)
- "Then He Kissed Me" (Roy Orbison)
- "He's a Rebel" (Buddy Holly)
- "There's No Other (like my baby)" " (Tony Bennett)
Performers Influenced By This Artist: