Signature Songs

A deck by Tessa Mbeki · 10 cards

Singles and deep cuts that define the Steely Dan sound.

Hey Nineteen

"Hey Nineteen" is a song from the band Steely Dan from their album Gaucho (1980) that describes an intergenerational seduction. Besides the composing duo of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, musicians include Hugh McCracken (guitar), Rick Marotta, Victor Feldman, and Steve Gadd (percussion), and Frank Floyd and Zack Sanders. The song peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 (1981) and appeared at number 11 on Top Adult Contemporary charts through 1993.

Aja (album)

Aja is the sixth studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released on September 23, 1977, by ABC Records. For the album, band leaders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen pushed Steely Dan further into experimenting with different combinations of session players, enlisting the services of nearly 40 musicians, while pursuing longer, more sophisticated compositions and arrangements. Like all the band's previous albums, it was produced by Gary Katz.

Deacon Blues

"Deacon Blues" is a song by the American rock band Steely Dan, written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen in 1976 for the band's sixth album, Aja (1977). It peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the US Cash Box Top 100 in June 1978. It also reached number 40 on the Easy Listening chart. In Canada, it peaked at number 14, a position it occupied for two weeks, and number 20 Adult Contemporary. In 2021, it was ranked No. 214 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Do It Again (Steely Dan song)

"Do It Again" is a 1972 song composed and performed by American rock band Steely Dan, who released it as a single from their debut studio album Can't Buy a Thrill as its opening track. The single version differed from the album version, shortening the intro and outro and omitting the organ solo.

FM (No Static at All)

"FM (No Static at All)" is a song by American jazz-rock band Steely Dan and the title theme for the 1978 film FM. It made the US Top 40 the year of its release as a single. A jazz-rock composition of bass, guitar and piano, its lyrics criticize the album-oriented rock format of many FM radio stations at that time, in contrast to the film's celebration of the medium.

Kid Charlemagne

"Kid Charlemagne" is a song by American rock band Steely Dan, released in 1976 as the opening track on their album The Royal Scam. An edited version was released as a single, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100. Larry Carlton's guitar solo on the song was ranked #80 in a 2008 list of the 100 greatest guitar solos by Rolling Stone. The solo was ranked number 8 in the updated 2026 version.

Peg (song)

"Peg" is a song by the American rock group Steely Dan, first released on the band's 1977 album Aja. The track was released as a single in 1977 and reached number 11 on the US Billboard chart in 1978 and number eight on the Cash Box chart. With a chart run of 19 weeks, "Peg" is tied with "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Hey Nineteen" for being Steely Dan's longest-running chart hit. In Canada, "Peg" spent three weeks at number seven in March 1978.

Reelin' In the Years

"Reelin' In the Years" is a song by American rock band Steely Dan, released as the second single from their 1972 debut album, Can't Buy a Thrill. It peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and at No. 15 in Canada.

Rikki Don't Lose That Number

"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is a single released in 1974 by the American rock band Steely Dan and the opening track of their third album Pretzel Logic. It was the most successful single of the group's career, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1974.

Gaucho (album)

Gaucho is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released on November 21, 1980, by MCA Records. The album marked a significant stylistic shift for the band, with more focus on rhythm and atmosphere than their earlier work, but the recording sessions demonstrated the group's typical obsessive nature and perfectionism, as they used at least 42 different session musicians, spent over a year in the studio, and far exceeded the original monetary advance given by the record label. At the 24th Annual Grammy Awards, Gaucho won Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical, and was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The making of the album was plagued by creative, personal, and professional problems, and, once it was completed, there was a three-way legal battle between MCA, Warner Bros., and Steely Dan over the rights to release it.