Deacon blues
| Deacon blues | |
|---|---|
| Steely Dan | |
| publication | 1977 (album version) March 1978 (single version) |
| length | 7:36 (album version) 6:33 (single version) |
| Genre (s) | Jazz rock |
| Author (s) | Donald Fagen , Walter Becker |
| Label | ABC Records |
| album | Aye |
Deacon Blues is a song by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker , which was interpreted in 1978 by the jazz rock band Steely Dan . It was released on the album Aja and released as the second single. It reached number 19 on the Billboard charts.
General
The G major song was largely written in Fagen's Malibu home and was inspired by his observation that “[...] when a college football team like the University of Alabama has a grand name like the 'Crimson Tide' , the nerds and losers should also have a terrific name. ”The protagonist of the song was described by Fagen as“ autobiographical ”as it reflected Fagen and Becker's dreams of becoming jazz musicians while they lived in the suburbs. Characterized by Becker as a “loser”, the theme of the song should reflect “[...] a broken dream of a broken person who leads a broken life”.
The British band Deacon Blue named themselves in 1985 after the song.
admission
After the song was recorded, Becker and Fagen decided to add a saxophone solo and hired their producer, Gary Katz, to have Pete Christlieb , saxophonist on the Johnny Carson's Show , play the solo.
“They told me to play what I feel. Hey, I'm a jazz musician, that's what I do ... so I recorded my first solo ... we listened to it and they said it was great. I recorded a second take and that's the one they used. I was gone in half an hour. And suddenly I can hear myself in every airport toilet in the world. "
occupation
- Donald Fagen - synthesizer, vocals
- Walter Becker - bass
- Larry Carlton , Lee Ritenour - guitar
- Victor Feldman - electric piano
- Bernard Purdie - drums
- Pete Christlieb - tenor saxophone
- Dean Parks - acoustic guitar
- Venetta Fields, Clydie King, Sherlie Matthews - backing vocals
Web links
- Steely Dan: 10 Essential Songs on rollingstone.com