Some fun facts about this track: 1. “East St. Louis Toodle-oo” is the only Steely Dan track in which Becker and Fagen are not in the songwriting credits. This one was written about fifty years earlier by Duke Ellington and his trumpet player, Bubber Miley. You May Also Like: FiveRead More

by Mark Saleski As the era of Classic Rock shrinks into the musical and cultural rear view mirror, it’s been enlightening to see how the stars have dealt with aging. You May Also Like: Why ‘Draw the Line’ Signaled the End of Aerosmith’s Blazing First Era Why I’m Still DisappointedRead More

Canned Heat, the doomed boogie-blues revivalists, only made a lone appearance at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival. Yet they still managed some star-crossed magic. You May Also Like: William Shatner and Canned Heat, “Let’s Work Together” (2020): One Track Mind

Rockpile (maybe the first neoclassicist rockers?) opened the door for every throwback moment of the coming decade — not to mention new wave. Yet this late 1970s-era rockabillying power-pop supergroup came and went so quickly, they rarely get their due. You May Also Like: For ELO’s Jeff Lynne, Meeting GeorgeRead More

The last week of July was an occasion of joy and pain for the folk-rock group America. Two days after founding ex-member Dan Peek passed away at the age of 60, America released their first album since 2007’s return-to-form Here And Now. You May Also Like: Stephen Stills & JudyRead More

As a kind of companion piece to “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd St?”, the mood shifts dramatically here, trading all of that romantic positivity for stark reality … or at least a reality whose dark side is winning out. You May Also Like: No related posts.

One litmus test to tell if you’re a baby boomer or older is if you can remember when the term “dude” was only used by surfer dudes or stoners out in California. In those days, everyone was aware of the term, but most people outside those two groups generally stayedRead More

Led Zeppelin’s image, dating back to the band’s debauched 1970s heyday, has grown so outsized that it sometimes obscures, well, the music. You May Also Like: Why ‘Celebration Day’ Provided the Perfect Farewell for Led Zeppelin

Sly Stone appeared in the late 1960s just as he was needed – in a time when the music itself seemed to be a reflection of the emotional divide between blacks and whites. You May Also Like: The Immediate Family, “Cruel Twist” (2020): One Track Mind Robert Randolph & theRead More

“Night By Night” falls right in the middle of the best three song sequence on any Steely Dan album. Last week we took the occasion of “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” to reflect on the genius of Jim Gordon. If Jim Gordon was the heir to Hal Blaine as theRead More