Two things became apparent to me when first hearing “Glamour Profession” on Steely Dan’s ‘Gaucho.’

Steely Dan’s “Hey Nineteen” was the first time I can remember anywhere in popular media where Baby Boomers started waxing poetic about the good ol’ days.

Steely Dan albums always start strong, but “Babylon Sisters” might be their strongest intro track of all time. You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “Three Sisters Shakin’” (circa 1992): Steely Dan Sunday

If not for a young man’s goof, Steely Dan’s ‘Gaucho’ might have had a third hit: “The Second Arrangement.”

Back in 1971 when they were struggling to make it as songwriters for hire and before they formed Steely Dan, Becker and Fagen landed some work scoring a soundtrack for a movie that starred Richard Pryor. You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “Hard Up Case (Live at Slim’s 1995)” (2024):Read More

There’s really no telling how many great Steely Dan recordings fell to the cutting room floor, as Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were notoriously picky.

Like “Deacon Blues,” another of Steely Dan’s ‘Aja’ hits, “Josie” has a specially written intro revisited later in the song that’s absolutely killer.

Shifty, start-stop rhythms, suddenly erupting musical asides and two guitar soloists (Becker and Larry Carlton), “I Got The News” has an irresistable, non-stop energy. You May Also Like: A World of Their Own: How ‘Aja’ Changed Everything For Steely Dan

Inspired by an episode from Homer’s ‘Odyssey,’ “Home At Last” works as a metaphor for the homesick Steely Dan.

There might not be a sunnier, snappier tune from Steely Dan than “Peg” and that’s undoubtably helped to propel the single to No. 11 on the Hot 100 charts.