If You Like Steely Dan

A deck by Tessa Mbeki · 29 cards

Artists and bands sharing Steely Dan's jazz-rock craftsmanship, lyrical wit, or studio polish.

Return to Forever

Return to Forever is an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhunters, and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever is often cited as one of the core groups of the jazz-fusion movement of the 1970s. Several musicians, including Clarke, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Al Di Meola, came to prominence through their performances on Return to Forever albums.

Loggins and Messina

Loggins and Messina was an American pop rock duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved major chart success during the early-mid 1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", "House at Pooh Corner", and "Your Mama Don't Dance". After selling more than 16 million records and becoming one of the leading musical duos of the 1970s, Loggins and Messina separated in 1976. Although Messina would find only limited popularity following the parting, Loggins went on to achieve major chart success in the late 1970s, through the 1980s.

Bruno Mars

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and dancer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, retro showmanship, and musical versatility. He is accompanied by his band, the Hooligans. Raised in Honolulu, Mars gained recognition in Hawaii as a child for his impersonation of Elvis Presley, before moving to Los Angeles in 2003 to pursue a musical career.

Mac DeMarco

McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. DeMarco initially emerged in the indie music scene in 2012, and has since released six full-length studio albums: his debut 2 (2012), Salad Days (2014), This Old Dog (2017), Here Comes the Cowboy (2019), Five Easy Hot Dogs (2023) and Guitar (2025). He additionally released the mini-albums Rock and Roll Night Club in 2012 and Another One in 2015, as well as the compilation album One Wayne G in 2023. In 2018, DeMarco established his own record label by the name of "Mac's Record Label".

Vulfpeck

Vulfpeck is an American funk-soul band and musical collective formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2011. Founded by bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Jack Stratton, the band consists of core members Theo Katzman, Woody Goss, and Joe Dart, musical partners Cory Wong, Antwaun Stanley, Joey Dosik, and Jacob Jeffries, and a changing lineup of guest musicians. The band has released six studio albums, four extended plays, a compilation, and two live albums through their own record label. The band gained recognition in 2014 for releasing Sleepify, a silent album that exposed a loophole in Spotify's royalty distribution and funded an admission-free tour.

Carly Simon

Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 top 40 U.S. hits include "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (No. 10), "Anticipation" (No. 13), "The Right Thing to Do" (No.

Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai ( jə-MIRR-ə-kwy) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in their early releases and later drew from rock, disco, electronic and Latin music genres. Lyrically, the group have addressed social and environmental justice.

Joni Mitchell

Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her personal lyrics and unconventional compositions, which grew to incorporate elements of pop, jazz, rock, and other genres. Among her accolades are eleven Grammy Awards, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone, in 2002, named her "one of the greatest songwriters ever", and AllMusic, in a 2011 biography, stated "Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century."

Toto (band)

Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1977. Toto combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, prog, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009. David Paich (keyboards, vocals) and Jeff Porcaro (drums) had played together as session musicians on several albums and formed the band; David Hungate (bass), Steve Lukather (guitar, vocals), Steve Porcaro (keyboards, vocals), and Bobby Kimball (vocals) were recruited before the release of the band's eponymous debut album in 1978.

Pat Metheny

Patrick Bruce Metheny ( məth-EE-nee; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progressive and contemporary jazz, Latin jazz, and jazz fusion. He has three gold albums and 20 Grammy Awards, and is the only person to have won Grammys in 10 categories.

Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American singer-songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated elements of rock, blues, country, and folk. She was also a frequent session player and collaborator with other artists, including Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, the Pointer Sisters, John Prine, and Leon Russell.

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two-time Grammy Award winner (from eight nominations), Jones was listed at No. 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock & Roll in 1999.

Michael McDonald (musician)

Michael Hanley McDonald is an American singer, keyboardist, and songwriter. Known for his distinctive, soulful voice, he was a backing vocalist for Steely Dan from 1973 to 1980 and rose to fame as a lead vocalist of the Doobie Brothers as well as its keyboardist across various stints. McDonald wrote and sang several hit singles with the Doobie Brothers, including "What a Fool Believes", "Minute by Minute", "Takin' It to the Streets", "Real Love" and "It Keeps You Runnin'". McDonald has also performed as a prominent backing vocalist on numerous recordings by artists including Toto, Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, and Kenny Loggins.

James Taylor

James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Randy Newman

Randall Stuart Newman is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, composer, and arranger. Born in Los Angeles to an extended family of Hollywood film composers, he is known for his Americana-inspired songs, non-rhotic Southern-accented singing, and lyrics that are often mordant or satirical and delivered by an unreliable narrator. Since the 1990s, he has worked mainly in film scoring, most popularly for Disney and Pixar.

George Benson

George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, playing soul jazz with Jack McDuff and others. He then launched a successful solo career, alternating between jazz, pop, R&B singing, and scat singing.

Paul Simon

Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel. Their blend of folk and rock, including hits such as "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "America" (1968), and "The Boxer" (1969), served as a soundtrack to the 1960s counterculture. Their final album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), is among the best-selling of all time.

Mark Ronson

Mark Daniel Ronson is an English and American musician, record producer, songwriter and DJ. He has won ten Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black (2006), as well as two for Record of the Year with her 2006 single "Rehab" and his own 2014 single "Uptown Funk". Ronson has also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Golden Globe and a Grammy Award for co-writing "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born (2018).

Ben Folds

Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter. After playing in several small independent bands from the late 1980s through the early '90s, Folds came to prominence as the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. Folds has recorded a number of solo albums, most recently Sleigher (2024). He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman.

Kenny Loggins

Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His early soundtrack contributions date back to A Star Is Born in 1976, and he is known as the "King of the Movie Soundtrack". As a solo artist, Loggins experienced a string of soundtrack successes, including an Academy Award nomination for "Footloose" in 1985.

Christopher Cross

Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)", from the 1981 film Arthur, peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. "Sailing" earned three Grammys in 1980.

Donald Fagen

Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who is the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his contributions to Steely Dan, Fagen has released four solo albums, beginning with The Nightfly in 1982, which was nominated for seven Grammys. In 2001, Fagen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Steely Dan. Following Becker's death in 2017, Fagen continued to tour using the band name until 2026.

The Doobie Brothers

The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California, in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greatest success taking place in the 1970s. The group's current lineup consists of founding members Tom Johnston (guitars, keyboards, harmonica, vocals) and Patrick Simmons (guitars, banjo, recorder, vocals), alongside Michael McDonald (keyboards, synthesizers, mandolin, vocals) and John McFee (guitars, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, cello, harmonica, vocals), and touring musicians including John Cowan (bass, vocals), Marc Russo (saxophones), Ed Toth (drums), and Marc Quiñones (percussion, backing vocals). Long-serving former members include guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, bassist Tiran Porter, and drummers John Hartman, Michael Hossack, and Keith Knudsen.

Khruangbin

Khruangbin ( KRUNG-bin; Thai: เครื่องบิน, lit. 'airplane', krʉ̂ʉang-bin, [kʰrɯa̯ŋ˥˩.bin]) is an American musical trio from Houston, Texas. The band consists of Laura Lee Ochoa (bass guitar and vocals), Mark Speer (guitar and vocals), and Donald "DJ" Johnson (drums, keyboards, and vocals). The trio is known for blending global music influences, such as Thai rock, Iranian pop, and dub, with American soul, rock, and psychedelia. In 2024, the band was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Father John Misty

Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyrics and eccentric performance style. Tillman began his career in Seattle in the early 2000s. One of his demos reached Damien Jurado, and in 2003 he opened for him on his tour.

Hall & Oates

Daryl Hall & John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, were an American R&B duo formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist, while John Oates primarily supplied electric guitar and backing vocals and occasional lead vocals. The two wrote most of the songs they performed, either separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s with a fusion of rock music, soul music, and rhythm and blues.

Snarky Puppy

Snarky Puppy is an American jazz fusion band led by bassist Michael League. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won five Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalists, League described Snarky Puppy as "a pop band that improvises a lot, without vocals".

Little Feat

Little Feat is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1969 by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, bassist Roy Estrada (both formerly of the Mothers of Invention), keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward. The band's classic line-up, in place by late 1972, consisted of George, Payne, Hayward, bassist Kenny Gradney, guitarist and vocalist Paul Barrere, and percussionist Sam Clayton. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving members re-formed Little Feat in 1987 and the band continues to perform.

Joe Jackson (musician)

Joe Jackson (born David Ian Jackson; 11 August 1954) is a British musician, singer and songwriter. Having spent years studying music and playing clubs, he found early success with his hit new wave singles "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" and "It's Different for Girls". After he moved to more jazz-inflected pop music, Jackson achieved a worldwide hit with "Steppin' Out". Jackson is associated with the 1980s Second British Invasion of the US. He has also composed classical music.