Singer Hit On His Professor’s Pregnant Wife & Got DENIED-Turned it into a 70s HIT--Professor Of Rock
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Once upon a time at a Halloween party in the 70s, a notoriously shy, unsociable future hall-of-fame rockstar named Donald Fagen got the courage to hit on a beautiful woman… He slipped her his phone number, but the problem was this awkward genius had just hit on his college professor’s pregnant wife… Would it lead to a torrid affair? We’ll find out the details next. But the embarrassing moment was turned into Steely Dan's Rikki Don't Lose That Number, one of the best songs and biggest hits of the 70s, and a guitar solo by today’s guest… Also, the man who helped this band become a household name and later stole their backup singer to front his next band. The story is next on Professor of Rock.
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#classicrock #70smusic #vinylstory #steelydan
Hey music junkies, Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. If you remember if you remember the joy of buying your favorite artists new 45, cassette single or maxi single you’ll relate to this channel. Mega Music Nostalgia . make sure to subscribe below right now. Click the bell so you know when the interviews are live. We also have a patreon your support there helps us get more interviews…
Walter Becker & Donald Fagen forged their friendship & musical partnership when they met in the late 60s while attending Bard College- a private liberal arts school located in Annandale on Hudson, New York. So much happened while the two were students at Bard. Becker & Fagen were in a band called Leathery Canary with a then-unknown Chevy Chase on drums. They were arrested during a marijuana bust as part of a campus-wide ‘war on longhairs’ waged by local sheriff’s deputies.
And, Fagen met an intriguing woman at a Halloween Party at Bard College, named Rikki, that influenced the writing of the duo’s biggest pop hit “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.” Her full name is Rikki Ducornet. She was the wife of Guy Ducornet who happened to be one of Fagen’s professors at Bard. As both Fagen and Ducornet tell it, there was obvious chemistry between the two of them when they met at the party, which was full of fellow college students.
Rikki was married and pregnant, during the encounter, but that didn’t stop Donald from not only engaging in conversation with Rikki.
He was undaunted by her husband’s stature at the College. Hoping he would become more than just an acquaintance, Donald slipped Rikki his phone number. Rikki found Donald Fagen interesting, and although she came close, she fought off the temptation and never called the future Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer.
Fagen turned Rikki’s spurning into the impetus for writing “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” even though Fagen’s lyrics don’t refer to their meeting at the Halloween party.
Before the encounter with Rikki Ducornet was revealed, rumors flew about the meaning of the song. being about There was widespread speculation that the song was ode to Rickie Lee Jones, or maybe Donald’s high school friend Rikki Truit (who spelled Rikki the same way Mrs. Docornet spelled it). The words heard in the first verse led many to believe “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” was about trying to talk Rick Derringer about leaving the group. “We hear you’re leaving that’s OK. I thought our little wild time had just begun I guess you kind of scared yourself, you turn and run. But if you have a change of heart…
Derringer jammed around a bit in the early days with Steely Dan.
Poll: Who is your pick for the GREATEST LYRICIST of the Rock Era?
Jim Morrison
Bono
I'll nominate ... Neil Peart.
Paul Simon - lyrical poetry
Billy Joel - story teller
Prince- there are alot of clever lyrics
Neil Diamond
Steely Dan is one of those bands that just seems to exist out of time. They sound completely of their era yet also have a timeless sound.
they're the only band that was named after a dildo.
Great description.
Well said!!!
🎯
Another masterpiece Prof. I have spent a lifetime being “that guy” that just knows every little trivial detail to classic rock, and backstories- and you never cease to teach me so much more. Thanknyou from the bottom of my heart. The work you do and the historical significance you are managing to acquire before it is too late- brother, it is not lost on any of us. Thank you thank you thank you. Wow.
Wow, thanks!
I totally agree. That’s why I watch and listen. Well said Warren.
Some of us have always had that level of curiosity. Always the music nerd in my group. 😉
He does such a great job, for sure. I started watching videos about bands I loved. Now I watch them all because they are so well made.
Same here, on all counts. I could fascinate my friends, (or bore them to death, (depending on their level of interest ) with Classic Rock minutiae for hours on end. And I learn something with every single episode. Some of the stories behind a particular song, or artist, I already know from
My own obsessive research etc… but when you are in The Professor’s Classroom, you’re gonna learn somethin’!!
Steely Dan are one of those few bands that seemed to always put out music with sophistication and intelligence
As much respect as I have for Carlin, that's just dumb @@illiteratealphabetagency9716
I can’t be the only person who thinks steely dan is just tremendously overrated.🫤
Agree 100%
@@illiteratealphabetagency9716 HE's wrong!
I could possibly understand not liking some of their songs, as they are too jazz for rock and too rock for jazz, but come on... Overrated? How so? Who does it better?
My daughter, born in 1967, and my son, born in 1975, both loved Steely Dan, as did Their parents! A true generational band!
One thing about Steeley Dan is that the lyrics were so well enunciated even if you didn't comprehend their meaning.
I know one possible exception to that. I used to think the "Peg" lyric "done up in blueprint blue" was really "your open blueprint glue." I was 12 at the time, though, so the fault may have been my own stupidity. I imagined some jerk spilled glue all over her and then told her it looks good on her.
They were excellent interpreters.
"Rikki,Don't Lose That Number" is definitely one of my favorites from Steely Dan.
My favorite is FM (No Static at All). They made a lot of versions of that one. Makes for interesting listening.
Seeing Skunk wearing a Wounded Warrior Project jacket is a wonderful sight. Respect.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to show the man is a patriot in so many ways. ;)
@@tideivlife1 Speaking of Rockets. Have you seen his work for the Pentagon defense story here on youtube ? Also interesting to see him standing with President Trump in some meetings.
@@suspectdown5133 lol yes that was the pun
How many times do you listen to a song and sing the lyrics and once you find out the meaning behind the song it changes everything? I'll never stop enjoying this one from my early years!
Thanks Cheryl!
Rikki and Reelin'. Finest kind.
@@reshhaverstahm7729 Agreed 👍
Right? It’s mind blowing.
I don't care how intellectually stimulating rock music is (BORING!!!). I listen to rock because I feel it. You're totally right, @cherylreichardt. I always thought Rikki was a boy, a boy I had a mad crush on when I was a kid. The thing is, I was also a boy. I couldn't talk to anyone. It was (in my mind) some kind of sickness that would get me locked up. It's impossible to imagine today what it was like to be an LGBTQ kid back then. His name was Ricky Goeb, and I'm sure he has a lovely wife and 2.5 children, and he's probably very happy, but then he was the boy I'd have given everything for just an innocent hug. This song still makes me cry.
I need the background on Josie!
“She prays like a Roman with her eyes on fire”…good stuff.
I used to question if it was "prays" or "preys". I thought it was "preys" and that it went along better with the "her eyes on fire" line. A quick google search told me that it is "prays". Then I wondered about "like a Roman" in the line. So i googled again and found this from The Roman Empire in the first century that was on PBS ... Roman religion involved cult worship, with approval from the gods depending on accurate observance of religious rituals. Each god needed an image and an altar or temple at which to offer prayers and sacrifices. There were many texts on Roman religion and its practices, so there were dozens of Roman ways to pray. The gods were all given different names depending on where in Rome you lived or what time period you lived. ...... Not sure if this is related but it could be. Sounds rather extreme.
The best description of Steely Dan's music I've ever heard is that they always have precisely the right number of notes. I couldn't agree more. Rikki and Peg were the gateway songs that brought me into the wonderful world of Steely Dan.
Skunk Baxter is one of the most humble and grounded interviews I've ever seen. I was always impressed by his guitar players ever. His one of my top tens along with David Gilmore, George Harrison and Jeff Lynn.
Steely Dan is prob the only band I could just throw on the system and let them play endlessly in the background. Love them
For sure!
yeh you can put on decade or gold cds or both in the car for a week i have both pretzel is the only vinly i have by them and ghits 2 is missing
@@marktait2371 I can listen to Katy Lied endlessly and not even realize it.
yeh you can just zone out to many of those songs in the car
Have done it MANY times!
I've always loved jazz, and I've always loved rock. It's no wonder I loved Steely Dan's music.
Love the Dan especially "Hey 19". Always sets a smooth mood for chores or whatever.
Skunk deserves more love than he gets! He has a ton of great licks and an outstanding mustache!
JJ -South Alabama
Love it!
That is true. There is something about their music that puts me into a mellow, cool zone.
The only thing I hate about that song and the album are the drum machine that they used. Fagen is so OCD that he literally is the first guy to develop a drum machine - he paid a developer something like $150K for a system that was barely usable but turned out time-perfect beats, which is what he insisted on. So for me, the earlier albums are better and have more swing to them. BTW, Kid Charlemagne is my favorite of their songs, and love playing it on the bass... very involving.
@@SteveC-Shaman I did not know that. Thanks for the tidbit.
Love Steely Dan. They stand alone
In AjA, the boys nailed the feelings of many a Vietnam era vets. "Up on the hill..." reflects upon the political environment where politicians, far removed from the daily risks for the people they send to war addresses that careless attitude. If you follow the musical interludes, one can almost see a unit of GI's out on a mission ("Bring out the hardware- let's do it right"- so we can stop this piecemeal routine) wanting to finally force a stop to the daily carnage. Aja is a manifestation of the many females who sought after GIs because they could bring them security on many levels. Of course, they provided companionship where the soldier could find peace and solace - an escape from the horrors of war and regain some semblance of normalcy- to survive. "AJA, when all my dying dancing is thru- I run to you...." The interlude once can imagine a battle going on- It's tense, up tempo at spots where one's heart might be racing from fear and as the encounter subsides, the melody and tempo changes to a more relaxed mode- one can almost hear a sigh of relief that he survived yet another close call with death. "I' run to you..." Maybe you would have to have experienced such life threatening events in your life while away from the safety of being back home, but Aja is there now, understands the lifestyle and risks and shares the same so a relationship occurs that will always be there- even after the soldier goes home. Such intense emotional experiences shared between two people can never truly be erased from one's soul. Well, that is what I see in that song and I easily tear up every time I hear it. No popular song has ever succeeded in portraying such a sensitive and accurate situation in life as Aja does. It will always remain, to me, as one of the highest reflection of intense real life stories thru a non-standard art form that is usually experienced thru movies and books.
Love me some Steely Dan. And Fagen's solo albums from the 80s are also wonderful !
Agreed!
Album. Fagen only released The Nightfly in the 80’s. He then went through major writers block and didn’t release his second album until he and Walter started working together for Kamakiriad in 1993 and the subsequent Steely Dan reunion tour.
I love seeing Skunk Baxter wearing a Wounded Warrior Project shirt. It's my go-to charity. I now have even more respect for the may. Great video, Professor!
Aja is one of the most perfectly arranged albums! Just Iconic. You want easy listening, Steely Dan should be your pick❤
The Professor is a natural interviewer with a deep knowledge of music and musicians. This channel is growing so fast, it is going to be huge!!
Thanks!
Thanks for the deep dive on the most mysterious song of the 70's. I never knew what this song was about until now! Skunk has so much wisdom about music. I think he raised my IQ ten points with his analysis. A thinking man's musician for sure!
Thanks!
Steely Dan is one of those bands that make you sophisticated just by listening to them. Growing up in the 70's they were always on the radio and you never turned the station when they were on. It wasn't until I got a bit older that I really began to like them as they are something that can "just Play" on the stereo behind the scenes and whether or not you actively listen to them they don't distract. As I've grown older they're now one of those bands you put on when you just want to sit back, enjoy a drink and just relax.
Great to see Skunk being interviewed. Never heard him before though I've seen print interviews with him. Great video Prof.
No question!
I concur, really ticks me off to hear them casually dismissed as "yacht rock" 😒 Kid Charlemagne is one of my faves!
That's a lot how I think of Steely Dan too.
They really make you think.
Steeley Dan is one of my favorite bands. My husband had their songs on his reel to reel, (that really dates us 😅), and we would chill to them everyday. Rikki Don't Lose That Number is one of those songs you can't not sing along with. I was a senior in high school when it came out. Love it! The 70's rocked!
As Jeff Baxter said, the guitar solo in "Rikki" is a distinctive composition on it's own. If you picked up a guitar and played it, people would immediately recognize it out of context, as with Don Felder's solo on "One of These Nights" or Ritchie Blackmoore's solo on "Smoke on the Water".
Wow! A really big blast from my past! I was 18 in 1974, married in May, graduated in June, had son in Sept! I had a beat up Opal, with only an AM radio, hearing this song brings back so many fond memories. In my Senior year, most people were listening to Led Zeppelin, The Who, Rolling Stones, etc. Therefore, Steely Dan, was very underrated for my "age group" in that year. But, as I listen, to "their" songs now, I'm "finding myself moving along with the music, really liking it!"
Thank you, Adam for another great video! You keep bringing it. I'll keep listening!!❤
You had a lot happen!
Those Opels were great little cars!
The Professor mentions the big pot bust at Bard College in May 1969 where upto 10% of the students were arrested, including Fagen and his girlfriend. The college bailed out the students, but left Fagen's girlfriend in jail because she wasn't a student. She was merely visiting Fagen when arrested.
Fagen's anger led to the song "My Old School," where he swears to never go back to Bard.
The song contains a lines "Tried to warn you, About Chino and Daddy Gee." Daddy Gee was local Assistant District Attorney G. Gordon Liddy. In 1970, Liddy was hired by the Nixon Whitehouse, and in 1972, Liddy helped organize the Watergate burglary, the famous political scandal that caused Nixon to be the only US President to ever resign.
Steely Dan has been my all time favorite band since I was in the 9th grade back in 1971. Peg is my all time favorite song. Their catalog was the soundtrack to my maturation as a human being, and they always pushed their fans to listen a little harder. Sophistication of style and form with song lyrics that always leave you wondering. Whenever someone says that music from the seventies suck, I turn to them and wonder if they even know what a "steely dan" is.........
“Peg” is one of the many underrated songs by Steely Dan.
The rhythm and beat in “Peg” is wonderful…it’s one of my core songs when I go running..
Hey, you interviewed Jeff "Skunk" Baxter! Awesome!
I can't believe it! Stellar interview!
He's awesome!
I was never a Steely Dan fan until I started listening to the Prof. I've really come to appreciate their music and style.
Awesome to hear! Thanks Christine!
My mom turned me on to Steely Dan.
Same
Same… Prof explores (but doesn’t dissect) songs from my early life that I’ve never really noticed distinctly, and I end up listening more closely and gaining a deeper appreciation for them.
I’m a singer of classical music, so gravitated to very melodic songs with obvious (overt) crowd-pleasing hooks. Now I begin to pay attention to “the groove” of a song.
Any Steely Dan is definitely groovy.
When I first heard Steely Dan in the early '80s, I was blown away by how they integrated so many musical styles into one song. Great band!
I must have played “Rikki” about a THOUSAND times on radio. Yet, every time I hear those first three notes, I know I’m in for a slice of GREATNESS for the next few minutes! Your considerable powers of perception, Adam, have topped themselves.
Really appreciate how you breakdown rock songs! So often the singer-songwriter gets all the credit in the listener’s mind but your analysis and insight makes us understand the power of the artists and arrangers behind the music that makes the piece so special! 😮 Makes us understand that the frontman, while important in a song is NOT as important as those behind the microphone! Thank you.😊
Thank you for featuring Steely Dan, Adam ❤❤❤ I remember the first time I heard ‘Ricky’ was in 1974. I was in 2nd year high school and we had to make a crystal radio in science. I could only pick up one station … a local Perth (Australia) pop station [it also played the American Top 40 every Sunday so I became familiar with Kasey Kasem] ‘Ricky’ was a hit at the time so I heard it frequently played in glorious mono. ❤Loved it.
YOu're welcome
@@ProfessorofRocksorry I wrote some more 😂
Cool story! You mean Rikki (female spelling) and Casey.
@@shiroibasketshoes my apologies and thanks :)
@@karamia1392 No problem, thanks!
Steely Dan is my absolute favorite duo/band of ALL time! My very first album was given to me by my grandfather when I was 10 years old… Aja. I memorized every song and still jam out every single day! There isn’t a Steely Dan song I don’t know and love. I am now 57! Thanks, Professor, for always showcasing the best of the best!!! ❤
I'm 67 and don't ever see myself getting tired of The Dan! They were and will always be iconic.
Your not alone, I know just what you mean. If I was going to hang out on a desert island all alone and allowed just 1 LP it would undoubtedly be Aja - the perfect background (or foreground) music for any occasion, but preferably cruising along some hot sunny coastal highway! Never tire of it. Pure perfection!
Have you checked out "the second arrangement" the dan's legendary "lost" classic that would have been the highlight of "gaucho" but the master tape got accidentally wiped just after it was completed. Lo-fi demo copies have been going around for years, but last year the daughter of Roger Nichols, SD's engineer, found an old cassette tape in the attic that Roger had copied from the master the night before it got destroyed, and after much deliberation she released it to the public last summer - its amazing - sounds near perfect. Should be on here somewhere if you search for - Second Arrangement New master - or something like that. Well worth checking out. But crazy to think it was stashed away for 40+ years like that :-)
All i can say about Steely Dan is, I introduced them to my musician sons and they listen to them now, 50 years later. They were so cool, they have just flowed throughout time. They’re timeless!
I've always been a fan of Steely Dan, but never really understood this song until I heard the backstory. Thank you!
Always an absolute favorite on my playlist, I mistakenly thought that 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' might have been a homage to Rickie Lee Jones, but different spelling of the first name. You are truly a professor teaching us the things we want to know about rock music! Thank you!
Always love Stunk Baxter's interviews he has such a fantastic way of describing the whole feel and concept of the tracks he has laid down. Interesting story behind the song, Steely Dan are always so tight lipped on their lyrics. What a fantastic song and album this is. Great episode professor!
He's so cool! Thanks My Name!
He’s so smart!
So glad you got to talk to Skunk. He is one of my favorite musicians, and there’s so much more to him than just being an accomplished musician, such an interesting character. I really need to buy his book.
same just heard on the radio his vinlys all stars is coming here in a few weeks may try to go
" Rikki don't lose that number " is one of my favorite 70's song ! Until now, I never knew the back story to it. The 70's were my favorite years. Didn't realize it till the 80s ! lol I'm so glad I stumbled across your channel ! Thanks !!
Classic!
Professor- as a long time Steely Dan fan (50 years), thank you so much for this. These stories continue to fascinate me.
The Dan is one of the greatest rock outfits ever assembled. Thanks for showing them some love and giving the back story of this classic. It's one of my favorites by these guys.
One of my best Grad school friends in the later 70’s introduced me to Steely Dan and after that I was hooked. We came up with our own expression for listening to their albums (which we did _every_ time our group got together): we called it having a “Steely Fest”! And to this day, 47 years later, whenever I listen to them I tell myself, “Time for a Steely Fest!” What a great group.
I feel like asking Skunk to remember how he came up with a solo he recorded in the studio decades ago, is like asking me what I did at work awhile back. Just another day on the job.
Yet he did remember some things about it. 🤔👍
Maybe!
🙂 Why do they call him 👉🦨
Their entire library and Fagans solo would be my desert island selection.
Same!
Same!
Masterpieces they all are.
Agree completely.
Loved Steely Dan from the first time I heard them. Back in the 90’s early 2000’s I noticed when the sound guys were setting up for concerts and performances once they had things mostly set, a huge number of them chose Steely Dan music to finish the fine tuning of the system. So one day I asked what’s with all you sound guys and Steely Dan and without missing a beat he said “we can’t help the fact we have more refined ears than most folks”, he continued by saying it’s very rich complex music. Perfect for sound evaluation.
I said, well I just like them, no special reason. He said that works too.
I’m sure these days the sound guys probably use more modern hiphop/rap but there was a time …. Loved this episode POR!! 🎶🎶
This one completely captivated me! Of course, I had no idea about the background stories of this luscious pop gem. I never heard it as a tango, but there it is. I wasn't even aware of the Horace Silver connection, but, that's what you're here for, right? It's been a few years since I focused on 'The Dan' for an afternoon's soundtrack, but that's where I'm headed, now. There're so much to LOVE in the grooves those guys worked out. So great to see/hear Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter filling in some blanks.
As always, I look forward to your classes. Keep on educating us, Prof, you know what we need.
"A flapamba, for those who don't know, is a tricked-out mohimba (sp?)..." Who, but you, DID know that?
That lead truly turned the entire song into a very artistic tapestry... 🎈
No question!
@@ProfessorofRock Have a fantastic day. The interview was absolutely fantastic. Well done!!
I was expecting "My Old School" to be the song, which also includes a great Jeff Skunk Baxter guitar solo.
Next time!
@@ProfessorofRock We'll hold you to that.
That’s what I thought too
same on the radiojust now his vinly album are coming to my area in a few weeks
vinly album all stars
You are schooling me on so much music, and it is fantastic.
Steely Dan had the most original music. One of the best groups ever.
From Wikipedia: Ducornet was intrigued by Fagen and was tempted to call him, but she decided against it. She later told an interviewer, "Philosophically it's an interesting song; I mean I think his 'number' is a cipher for the self."
That's right!
Thanks, Professor for the info! Been a fan of Steely Dan since "Reelin in the years". Had the chance to see them four times in So. Cal. The last time was a few years back before Walter Becker past at the Santa Barbara bowl. These two talented NY boys wrote the soundtrack of my lifetime. We did buy "the house on the corner with the rug inside"! "So outrageous"!
Wow, Rikki is indeed beautiful. Steely Dan is immortal for their music, and so strange they never had a number 1 hit.
Steely Dan got nothing but the best guitarists to wail on their songs. Reelin in the Years is the stuff of legends. My Old School is one of my favorite solos. Rikki solo is so rhythmic. I saw Jeff Skunk Baxter live with The Doobie Brothers back in '77 and he killed it.
Wow, thank you making this great video. I used to listen to a LOT of Steely Dan back in the day and I really liked and respected them but it's been years or maybe even decades since I've listened to any of their albums except maybe Aja. Watching this video and hearing their incredible music has reminded me of why I once considered a number of their albums to be amongst the best ever made and high among my absolute favourites (yes, I'm Canadian, you can tell by the spelling). I now realize I need to go back and revisit their entire catalog and rediscover what I loved so much about their music. It'll be like being on a ship and returning to a welcoming shore after many, many years of being at sail in some far off sea.
Totally engrossing, completely exposed and wonderfully honored. Man, what a great backgrounder. Skunk's interview was the cherry on top.
Professor, I think this is your best video ever. Facinating, encompassing so many life and music elements. Thank you!
YES!!!! Just excellent. More SD!! Always a win Prof!
When I first heard Reelin' in the Years, i was hooked. Bought every Dan album. Wore the grooves off the vinyl!
Thanks Professor!
Adam! Thank you so much! You did it again. You’ve brought an amazing back story to a song we grew up with but have forgotten or not realized the gem that it is. I will be digging back into their box set this weekend and searching for other episodes you may have on this band. Got to see them in Camden, NJ with Michael McDonald as the opener. Flawless performances that night.
Steely Dan has the most debaucherous lyrics. I love it! 🖖🏼
They're the best!
@@ProfessorofRockuh... You like them like that? 😮
They are clever. I'm not as keen on some of the "debaucherous" aspects, but that's what they wrote... 🤷
Steely Dan one of my all-time favorite bands. Thanks for letting me know the story behind the song it brings more relevance to it all these later. I used to have all of their albums but don't know where any for them are.
Still my favorite band. Rikki was the first 45 I ever bought back when I was 11.
“I’m not trying to sound like one of the smartest guys in the world…”
You ARE one of the smartest guys in the world!!!
Huh?
@@ProfessorofRock well, he is a missile defense strategist, an advisor for NASA, and a bunch of other organizations.
I liked Steely Dan in the 70s but I didn’t realize how much until the 2000s when I rediscovered them.
Steely Dan’s first LP “Can’t Buy A Thrill” was so good they could have closed shop & been legends forever. Instead they moved forward & birthed new innovated SD music, which I purchased at a record store, after driving to the record store, stopping to get gas & maneuvering threw traffic. Still “Can’t Buy A Thrill” is my go to SD LP.
Glad he gave Horace Silver his due credit, better late than never!
I was a teenager when Steely Dan were at their peak and I heard their music on the radio all the time, but I just didn’t “get” them. It’s not that I disliked their music, I just didn’t get excited about it and never had any desire to buy an album. I think I was just too young and immature; I wasn’t ready. I appreciate their talent and recognize their musicality much more now that I’m older. I have several of their songs on my current playlist and this is one of my favourites.
Yet it could be said that Jeff "Skunk" Baxter *is* one of the smartest guys in the world (the rock world anyway) - besides music he was involved with national security and missile defense systems. Glad you had a chance to talk with him, Adam!
👨🏫PROFESSOR🎸🙋♂️shout out to U🤙For All you're work making these videos 🎶 🎸 I started watching about 5-6 months ago, & you've brought back so many memories! Its jarred songs I'd not heard in years, & all the memories I've had that went with them growing up! Born in 79 I had the full 80-90s decades growing up, & theres no other time in history I'd pick to do it again! Keeping this history alive is a great thing you're doing & getting to have a experience like you do, meet & interviewing these legends couldnt be a better reward! Thank you for sharing them with us & getting to be a part of that!!! Much Luv from WV 🤘🎶🎸
Thanks so much!
@@ProfessorofRock🤝Also Much Respect @ the fact you actually take the time to go thru the comments & interact with your viewers! 🤜🤛It just shows what a good genuine person u r😎Thx Again!
Rikki was the first 45 I ever bought. Well, picked out is a better word. I was so glad to see that sleeve. Stay major, dudes! Great interview and thanks!
Absolutely love this band! That was one of my favorite interviews of yours! So interesting to hear about their music journey!🤘🔥
Glad you enjoyed it!
Pretzel Logic is such an incredibly amazing album. I bought it not long after it came out and played the shit out of it during my high school years. It’s kind of a short album and every time I reached the end of side two I would be wishing that it would keep going on and on.
I'm 65. You know how we make meaning from songs never intended by the artist. Until I watched this video, I always heard the line thinking about the one that got away: you don't even know you're MINE... not MIND as the real lyric states...I'll keep singing MINE as I think about her.
I remember reading an article about their songwriting back in the 70’s. They quoted someone in the band saying that their lyrics were just cool phrases that they liked, all mixed together. I believed that back then, because Do It Again seemed to fit that perfectly. Now I have no idea if that was true or just them goofing with the interviewer.
Such a clever group of singers.. love all their music.
Great video, but you never addressed the connection between Jeff Baxter and Michael McDonald and their migration into The Doobie Brothers. Love your content - I always learn so much from your videos - thanks for posting !
Good for Rikki that she didn't call Fagen back. How typical of a guy to say something negative about the woman who rejected him. It makes me think about where I am in my life and how I shouldn't take less than 100% from ANYBODY! Having said that, from beginning to end the song is flawless. Steely Dan couldn't write a bad song.🎉
Thanks for the lesson today, Professor! I learned so much! No idea of the history and influence Jazz played with Rikki don't loose that number. Hands down, one of the best from 70s. A true classic!
I fell in love with SD when I met a recent graduate of Syracuse in Nantucket in '88. He played their best albums (on cassette tapes) all summer long. Great memories
Steely Dan, one of the GREATEST BANDS !!
I once heard that Timothy B. never says no to a singing job!! This song is such a classic!! Whatever style you call it, it's an amazing song that sounds so timeless!! My friend heard it for the first time today and she loves it!! Keep posting these awesome videos!! Have an amazing weekend, Professor Of Rock!! Cindy S.
You do the same Cindy! Thanks!
In the 50+ years I’ve been with my husband, the BEST, and most thoughtful, birthday gift he’s ever given me was early on in our marriage. He bought every Steely Dan album (we used turntables- there were no cassettes or CDs, but I did have a couple of SD 8 tracks😂) that was out at the time. I was impressed! And I still have them😊. Interestingly enough, my name is Peg. I hated the name my whole life until Michael McDonald sang to me on Aja. I remember Spanish class in college when we had to do our introductions “mi nombre es…” and this guy said “oh you must be the Steely Dan girl”🙄 ummm, sure
I've always thought of this as more of a group(of friends) song, due to the lyric, "I have a friend in town, he's heard your name - We could go out driving on Slow Hand Row".
I liked songs like Reeling in the years because while there was a story in it, I didn't have to think to much about it and thus was able just kick back and enjoy it. Their later music made me feel like I had to think to much about what was going on and so it was hard to just sit back and enjoy the music.
So good!
First Steely Dan song I ever heard, way back when I got my first radio. Sang along with it over and over again. Now it evokes wonderful memories of blossoming adolescence and the evolution of the self into the world of music appreciation beyond the limitations of my parents' comprehension; my musical worldview would rapidly expand from that point onward, never slowing down.
You didn't disguise Donald Fagen in the thumbnail at all. Instant recognition.
Right?
You had me at “pregnant wife”. Really cornering the market on preggo fetish/ music history. 👍
You think?
@@ProfessorofRock maybe do a week of just preggo rock stories. Like Shark week.
I love steely Dan. One of the greatest bands ever in my opinion. Riki don't lose that number is one of my favorite songs. I also love F/M, Deacon blues is my favorite steely Dan song. I love the steely Dan episodes thank you Adam for another great steely Dan episode.
Love Deacon Blues is great. The Scottish band from the eighties were named after that song
No question!
@@stephenbrown4211 Deacon Blue are an excellent band! "Dignity" and "Real Gone Kid" etc.!
@@shiroibasketshoes I does has to posits teh questions whethers it's goods for Dans to beh so steely? Inflexibility and stubbornness can beh a bads things, with sometimes bendings a littles avoidings teh breaks.
@@guntherdawg Gunthardt Beagle: Teh group name Steely Dan did not refer to a person. It's an inanimate object froms a book, where whats really needs to avoid breaks is what goes on it, or teh real version of it. Thanks for your wise words about lifes, thoughs, good boy!
Must be nice to get Jeff Baxter, Wayne Shorter, Larry Carlton and other greats to play a solo in your songs. Elliott Randall's solo on "Reelin' In The Years" is a great one as well.
edit- as I've said before 'Aja' is in my top 5 albums of all-time! Saw Steely Dan live in August 1993.
Yes, but for my money, the BEST SD solo is Walter's solo in Josie. It is just so subtle and has so much melancholy.
Love Elliot's solo!
They’re all flashy guitar pros!
They came up w/ lyrics that I can always remember. Truly great songs. A big part of my lifes soundtrack.
Rock on!
I woke.up too early and before this episode was uploaded. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" was already playing on a continuous loop in my head. I'm a little freaked out now.
Whoa!
Talk about a blast from the past! I was in college when the song came out, and my last name rhymed with Rikki. It really sounded like they were saying my name, so guys that I didn't know would drop a piece of paper on my books in the student center with their phone number on it while they were singing that song. Is that crazy? I met a lot of great guys that way, and I wound up marrying one for 17 years! I STILL love Steely Dan!
Thanks for rocking that awesome Cheap Trick shirt, Professor!
I remember the very first time I heard "Rikki don't lose that Number." I know where I was, what was going on in the day, which radio station was playing. In short, who needs a diary when you have rock masterpieces?
Thanks!
@@ProfessorofRock thank you, buddy. Keep up the good work.
Always loved this song, and the story behind it just makes it that much better.
I agree. So funny!
The more you know…
I heard somebody say something about flirting with a pregnant wife, and I had to hear this🤣
As soon as I heard Annandale, I thought the song today would be “My Old School.” Here’s a question: why would Professor Ducornet and his hot wife Rikki be attending a Halloween party with a bunch of college students !? I would think that this would open everyone up to some unprofessional & inappropriate behaviors. It was…shall we say…pushing the envelope. Kudos to Rikki for resisting the temptation to cheat on her husband !
Donald Fagan thought he could score with another man's pregnant wife!? He is stranger than I thought.
I still remember the first time I heard "Rikki"- I was about 16. It's one of those rare songs that ya like the first time you hear it, and just keep liking it- as I indeed do, now 46 years later. If only all pop/rock bands were of the quality of Stealy Dan! Unironically, Song For My Father has been a long-time favorite of mine too- For anyone who may be unfamiliar, give it a listen- it's a lush, upbeat piece that you can just get lost in.