Walter Becker (musician, 1950)

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Walter Becker (2013)

Walter Carl Becker (born February 20, 1950 in New York ; † September 3, 2017 there ) was an American musician .

life and career

Childhood and youth

Becker was in the New York district of Queens born. He was raised by his father and grandmother after his parents separated when he was a young boy; his British mother had returned to her homeland. They lived in Queens and in Scarsdale , New York, from the age of five . Becker's father was a sales representative for paper cutting machines. When Becker was around fourteen years old, a slightly older boy named Randy Wolf moved into the neighborhood and showed Becker how to play the blues guitar. When Becker was 16, his father died.

"Walter had a very tough childhood - I'll spare you the details."

Musical career

Walter Becker attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan until 1967 and then Bard College in New York, where he met his longtime musical companion Donald Fagen . The then assistant prosecutor Gordon Liddy (later known for his involvement in the Watergate affair ) charged Becker with third-degree marijuana possession in 1969 . Becker and Fagen both played together in a few bands, including The Leather Canary , in which the later film star Chevy Chase played drums. In 1970 they went on tour with Jay and the Americans .

Finally, Becker and Fagen formed the duo Steely Dan , whose first album was released in 1972 and which has sold more than 30 million records to date. Becker played the electric bass and electric guitar; Together with Fagen, he also composed and wrote the band's songs.

Becker regularly published columns in Guitar Player magazine. In a satirical column in the April 1994 issue, he coined the acronym "GAS" ("Guitar Acquisition Syndrome") for the senseless, uncontrolled accumulation of guitar equipment. The term in its expanded meaning " Gear Acquisition Syndrome " ("Equipment Acquisition Syndrome ") became a winged word in Internet forums and the music press.

Becker (like Fagen) received an honorary doctorate for music from the Berklee College of Music in 2001 . On October 30, 2008, Becker was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2015, Rolling Stone listed Becker, together with Donald Fagen, at number 71 of the 100 best songwriters of all time .

Private

Becker was married and has two children. He died of esophageal cancer.

Discography

Solo albums

  • 1994: 11 Tracks of Whack
  • 2008: Circus Money

Steely Dan

producer

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. walterbecker.com. Walter Becker's website, accessed on September 3, 2017 (English).
  2. http://www.pnp.de/nachrichten/panorama/2641855_Steely-Dan-Gitarrist-Walter-Becker-gestorben.html
  3. rollingstone.com: Walter Becker's Widow Details Steely Dan Co-Founder's Swift Illness, Death
  4. a b c rollingstone.com: Steely Dan: Return of the Dark Brothers
  5. heavy.com: Walter Becker Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
  6. Walter Becker: “The Dreaded GAS”, in: Guitar Player April 1994, p. 15.
  7. ^ GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome, Equipment Addiction. In: AMAZONA.de. June 1, 2018, accessed on July 11, 2020 (German).
  8. ^ Commencement 2001 . Berklee College Award Ceremony 2001, accessed September 3, 2017.
  9. Walter Becker . Long Island Music Hall of Fame, accessed September 3, 2017.
  10. The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time: 71 Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Rolling Stone , August 2015, accessed September 3, 2017 .
  11. Steely Dan: Walter Beckers cause of death published. November 16, 2017, accessed December 25, 2019 .